Professional Education: Shaping Future Professionals

Professional education is a cornerstone of individual career success and overall societal advancement. It encompasses specialized training and instruction meticulously crafted to equip individuals with the requisite knowledge, skills, and competencies for excelling in specific careers or professions. This form of education transcends traditional academic learning, focusing on practical application and the development of expertise directly relevant to the professional world.

Defining Professional Education

Professional education refers to specialized training or instruction designed to prepare individuals for specific careers or professions. It typically involves acquiring the knowledge, skills, and competencies necessary to excel in a particular field. Professional education can take various forms, including formal academic programs, vocational training, workshops, seminars, certifications, and on-the-job training. Professional development is gaining new skills through continuing education and career training after entering the workforce.

Forms of Professional Education

The landscape of professional education is diverse, offering various pathways for individuals to acquire specialized knowledge and skills. These include:

Formal Academic Programs: These are structured educational programs offered by universities, colleges, and professional schools, leading to degrees or diplomas in specific fields such as medicine, law, engineering, and business.
Vocational Training: This type of training focuses on providing practical skills and knowledge directly applicable to specific trades or occupations, such as welding, plumbing, culinary arts, and automotive repair.

Read also: Shaping Careers Through Vocational Training
Workshops and Seminars: These are short-term, intensive training sessions designed to provide participants with focused instruction on specific topics or skills, often led by industry experts or experienced professionals.
Certifications: Professional certifications validate an individual's competence in a particular field or skill set, often requiring passing an examination or meeting specific experience requirements.
On-the-Job Training: This involves learning job-related skills and knowledge while working in a professional setting, often under the guidance of experienced colleagues or supervisors.

The Significance of Professional Education

Professional education plays a pivotal role in shaping individuals for success in their respective fields. Through rigorous training, practical experience, and specialized knowledge, professionals are equipped with the skills necessary to excel in their careers. Investing in professional education not only enhances one’s capabilities but also contributes to personal and organizational growth.

Interprofessional Education: A Collaborative Approach

Interprofessional education (IPE) is an important step in advancing health professional education for many years and has been endorsed by the Institute of Medicine as a mechanism to improve the overall quality of health care. IPE has also become an area of focus for the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP), with several groups, including these authors from the AACP Interprofessional Education Task Force, working on developing resources to promote and support IPE planning and development. Interprofessional education is an important pedagogical approach for preparing health professions students to provide patient care in a collaborative team environment. The appealing premise of IPE is that once health care professionals begin to work together in a collaborative manner, patient care will improve.

Benefits of Interprofessional Teams

Interprofessional teams enhance the quality of patient care, lower costs, decrease patients' length of stay, and reduce medical errors. The World Health Organization, National Academies of Practice and the American Public Health Association are a few of the many organizations that have articulated support of IPE. Most notably, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) declared that “health professionals should be educated to deliver patient-centered care as members of an interdisciplinary team…”. The IOM has clearly stated that patients received safer, high quality care when health care professionals worked effectively in a team, communicated productively, and understood each other's roles.

The Evolution of IPE

Although there is an abundance of evidence supporting the IPE of health professions students, this is not the norm in most schools and colleges of pharmacy. In 2005, the AACP Strategic Planning Committee met for a full day to discuss the issues and needs of AACP members with respect to IPE. The group reviewed current projects, identified opportunities for committee investigation, discussed the need for diverse models of IPE, and discussed opportunities for AACP program development. The 2006-2007 Professional Affairs Committee Report stated they “accept the premise that team-delivered care results in better health outcomes. In 2005-2006, AACP convened a Council of Faculties Interprofessional Education Task Force with the charge of defining IPE, developing competencies in IPE, and identifying issues in implementing IPE in the various types of schools and colleges of pharmacy. This work was continued with the 2006-2007 Task Force identifying common curricular themes for IPE and how to implement IPE in each of the varied types of schools and colleges environments.

Defining the Elements of IPE

Before engaging in the development and implementation of IPE at any institution, it is important to define the elements of IPE. Interprofessional education involves educators and learners from 2 or more health professions and their foundational disciplines who jointly create and foster a collaborative learning environment. The goal of these efforts is to develop knowledge, skills and attitudes that result in interprofessional team behaviors and competence. It is important to also consider what is not IPE. The goal of IPE is for students to learn how to function in an interprofessional team and carry this knowledge, skill, and value into their future practice, ultimately providing interprofessional patient care as part of a collaborative team and focused on improving patient outcomes.

Interprofessional Teams: A Collaborative Force

An interprofessional team is composed of members from different health professions who have specialized knowledge, skills, and abilities. The goal of an interprofessional team is to provide patient-centered care in a collaborative manner. The team establishes a common goal and using their individual expertise, works in concert to achieve that patient-centered goal. Team members synthesize their observations and profession-specific expertise to collaborate and communicate as a team for optimal patient care. In this model, joint decision making is valued and each team member is empowered to assume leadership on patient care issues appropriate to their expertise. Health care professionals from different disciplines who conduct individual assessments of a patient and independently develop a treatment plans are not considered an interprofessional team.

Evidence Supporting IPE

Although an initial Cochrane review in 2000 found no studies which met inclusion criteria, a review in 2008 identified 6 studies evaluating the effectiveness of IPE compared with traditional education on patient care outcomes and professional practice. Four of the studies showed positive outcomes on patient satisfaction, teamwork, error rates, mental health competencies or care delivered to domestic violence victims, while the other 2 found no impact on patient care or practice. Since there were a small number of studies with different interventions, general conclusions could not be drawn. However, based on an interpretative approach to synthesizing the data, one can summarize that they were well received by participants, enabled students and practitioners to learn the knowledge and skills necessary for collaborative working, and can improve the delivery of services and make a positive impact on care. Another review article included 21 articles evaluating IPE; again, there were differences in the methodologies and outcomes of each study, and the results were provided in narrative manner. These studies illustrated positive reactions from learners, a positive change in perceptions and attitudes, and a positive change in knowledge and skills necessary for collaboration. A systematic review by pharmacy educators investigated the evidence of educational interventions in health professions to enhance learner outcomes related to interprofessional care. Upon review of 13 IPE training programs, positive results were seen in the knowledge domain when tested on other professions' roles and skills, interprofessional care, geriatrics, and quality improvement methods. Learners demonstrated positive results when measured on attitude toward other professions and health care teams.

International Recognition of IPE

The need for IPE has been recognized internationally since the mid 1980s. In the United Kingdom, the Center for the Advancement of Interprofessional Professional Education (CAIPE) was established in 1987, and The Journal for Interprofessional Care was first published in 1986. Traditionally, individual health professions have been trained primarily in their own schools or colleges by members of the same profession. Traditionally, first- through third-year pharmacy students have been taught in classrooms only with other pharmacy students. For many students, their first exposure to IPE does not occur until they reach their advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs) in the fourth year. In 2007, faculty members from the St. Louis College of Pharmacy conducted a survey of schools and colleges of pharmacy regarding IPE. Of the 31 schools responding to the survey, 47% were not currently offering IPE. Information on interprofessional offerings at the schools not responding are unknown, but their lack of response may indicate an even higher percentage of total programs not offering IPE. Interprofessional education is, indeed, evolving slowing. Five years after the challenge from the IOM report, there has been minimal significant change in health professions education specifically designed to address the issue of IPE. However, there has been increased involvement from the health care community in this direction.

Factors Contributing to the Need for IPE

In addition to the evidence supporting the value of IPE, various factors have contributed to the need for IPE. The 2003 IOM report “Health Professions Education: A Bridge to Quality” reflected discussion from an interprofessional summit held the prior year involving 150 participants across many health care professions. Accreditation standards and guidelines from health care professions have also addressed the necessity for this collaborative approach in education. The Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) created standards and guidelines effective since July 2007 that delineate the desire for IPE. Guidelines 1.4, 6.2, 9.1, and several areas in Standard 12 clearly engage interprofessional learning, practice, activities, and patient care. Concerning medical education, the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) is the accrediting body for medical schools in the United States and Canada. Currently, there are no official accreditation standards about IPE specifically in medical education. However, Standards ED-19 and ED-23 refer to interacting with other health care providers and state that “there must be specific instruction in communication skills as they relate to physician responsibilities, including communication with patients, families, colleagues, and other health professionals. The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education is the accrediting agency for baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs in the United States and works closely with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). The Essentials of Baccalaureate Education for Professional Nursing Practice contains the accepted standards for baccalaureate programs in nursing and was recently revised in 2008. Essential VI (Interprofessional Communication and Collaboration for Improving Patient Health Outcomes) focuses on IPE as a central competency for patient-centered care. Part of the document states that “interprofessional education enables the baccalaureate graduate to enter the workplace with baseline competencies and confidence for interactions and communication skills, that will improve practice, thus yielding better patient outcomes…. The Commission on Dental Accreditation has outlined standards for both general and advanced education programs in dentistry. Lastly, the Association of Schools of Allied Health Professions chose for its 2006 Annual Conference the theme of “Framing Interprofessional Education, Practice, and Research: Preparing Allied Health Professionals for the 21st Century”. Although accreditation standards for each of the allied health professions will not be discussed individually at this juncture, it is intriguing to know that IPE is a major focus of this professional organization.

Core Competencies for Health Professions Education

As mentioned earlier, the IOM report developed core competencies for health professions education including “work in interdisciplinary teams: cooperate, collaborate, communicate, and integrate care in teams to ensure that care is continuous and reliable.” In conjunction with these core IOM competencies, the 2006-2007 Task Force developed student competencies achievable through IPE. Task Force members reviewed pertinent IPE literature, brainstormed potential competencies, and used a consensus approach to develop the final list of competencies. Each competency has specific objectives that help build toward the overarching competency. Many of the competencies proposed for IPE relate to teamwork. Sharing information about the roles of team members, determining professional responsibilities and boundaries, and learning about how different professions can work together to optimize their strengths in providing patient care all contribute to the development of professionals working together towards a common goal (eg, optimizing patient care). Communication is a key skill in effective team functioning; the ability to use communication techniques to enhance team functioning and deal with barriers that interfere with communication is necessary for optimal teamwork. Understanding how to assess team performance and use that data to improve team members' skills and modify roles to enhance performance is an important competency in IPE. Leadership can be an important competency for interprofessional education and learning how to effectively facilitate an interprofessional team meeting is one important objective. Objectives related to conflict resolution and consensus building are essential to building an effective interprofessional team player. Learning how to identify and address the origin of team problems and implement strategies for overcoming these issues are objectives that build toward competence in resolving conflict. Working together to set common patient care goals may be considered a terminal competency for interprofessional education. The ability to identify and achieve a common patient care goal as an interprofessional team of learners could be considered the ultimate goal for IPE.

Barriers to Initiating IPE

Barriers to initiating IPE can be encountered at various levels of the organization including among the administration, faculty members, and students. A study of Canadian schools identified that the main barriers of IPE were scheduling, rigid curriculum, “turf battles,” and lack of perceived value to IPE. Attitudinal differences in health professionals, faculty members, and students also influence implementation of IPE. Barriers at the administrative level are multifactorial, including the perception of whether it is worthwhile to direct resources to a new change given the demands of the other missions of an institution. It is important that administrators understand and facilitate the need for changing the education and training of professionals as health care changes. In addition, logistical concerns such as scheduling and space may need to be overcome at the administrative level to advance a longterm commitment to IPE. Faculty members will also need to appreciate the advantages of IPE so that they can be fully engaged in implementing the change. Faculty members may be resistant to changes due to increased workload and lack of time. Leaders in the professional field have a responsibility to motivate faculty members to make these changes and have a system to reward faculty members for their efforts in developing and implementing IPE. Operations management of the education system in many professions will need to be altered to align the curricula to one another. This includes the physical space as well as course design and scheduling. Ideally, the physical space of schools and colleges should be adaptable to IPE. This may require modification of current structures of schools, and IPE should be considered when new schools are being designed and built. Another barrier in implementation is the logistical challenge of synchronizing classes among different health professions so that students can physically be together to learn. It may be difficult to find common times for IPE courses and available classrooms large enough to accommodate the increased numbers of students. Also, even if a university has multiple health professions schools, they may not be in close proximity to one another.

The "Hidden Curriculum"

The IOM report states that education should not occur in a vacuum, and a “hidden curriculum” exists. “This ‘hidden curriculum’ of observed faculty or clinician behavior, informal interactions and conversations with fellow students and with faculty and practicing professionals.

Definitions Related to Education Programs

Administratively separate unit means a school, department, or college of an educational institution (other than a local educational agency) admission to which is independent of admission to any other component of such institution. Admission means selection for part-time, full-time, special, associate, transfer, exchange, or any other enrollment, membership, or matriculation in or at an education program or activity operated by a recipient. Applicant means one who submits an application, request, or plan required to be approved by an official of the Federal agency that awards Federal financial assistance, or by a recipient, as a condition to becoming a recipient. Designated agency official means Assistant Secretary for Management and Chief Financial Officer.

An institution of professional education means an institution (except any institution of undergraduate higher education) that offers a program of academic study that leads to a first professional degree in a field for which there is a national specialized accrediting agency recognized by the Secretary of Education.

Institution of vocational education means a school or institution (except an institution of professional or graduate or undergraduate higher education) that has as its primary purpose preparation of students to pursue a technical, skilled, or semiskilled occupation or trade, or to pursue study in a technical field, whether or not the school or institution offers certificates, diplomas, or degrees and whether or not it offers full-time study. Recipient means any State or political subdivision thereof, or any instrumentality of a State or political subdivision thereof, any public or private agency, institution, or organization, or other entity, or any person, to whom Federal financial assistance is extended directly or through another recipient and that operates an education program or activity that receives such assistance, including any subunit, successor, assignee, or transferee thereof. Student means a person who has gained admission.

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