Learning Together: Integration of Advanced Practice Providers into a General Medicine Ward Team

Abstract

Background: The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) demands that physicians should be trained to engage in clinical activities with other health profession providers. Incorporation of advanced practice providers (APPs) into medicine ward teams has not yet been described. Aim: To describe a pilot and feasibility evaluation of an interprofessional general medicine ward team with internal medicine residents and APPs to encourage resident leadership development, enhance service to education balance, and promote interprofessional collaboration. Setting: University of Colorado, Internal Medicine Residency Program. Participants: Sixteen internal medicine residents, 16 interns, 19 Department of Medicine faculty members, and 8 advanced practice provider fellows in hospital medicine. Program Description: The authors describe an interprofessional general medicine ward team including team structure, and roles and responsibilities of each team member. Program Evaluation: Each team member completed an electronic survey following the rotation and the majority agreed that the pilot team allowed for an enhanced resident leadership role, and helped to restore the service to education balance and interprofessional collaboration. Discussion: An interprofessional general medicine ward team is feasible, has the potential to optimize service to education balance, and exposes learners to a collaborative interprofessional clinical environment.