IPE Curriculum Alignment: Accreditation & IPEC Core Competencies

Interprofessional education (IPE) at the University of Oklahoma Health Campus (OUHC) is intentionally designed to align with national interprofessional standards and the accreditation requirements of OUHC’s health professions programs. The IPE curriculum provides a cohesive, longitudinal learning experience that supports collaborative practice readiness while meeting discipline‑specific accreditation expectations.

National Framework: IPEC Core Competencies (2023)

Our IPE curriculum is grounded in the 2023 Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) Core Competencies, which define the nationally recognized expectations for collaborative practice across the health professions. The updated IPEC framework emphasizes team‑based care, ethical and equitable practice, systems thinking, and population health, priorities that are integrated throughout the OUHC IPE curriculum.

Values & Ethics for Interprofessional Practice

Values and ethics are introduced in Intro to Interprofessional Education, where learners examine shared professional values and patient‑ and population‑centered care. These concepts are reinforced in All Professions Day 2 (APD2) through ethical reasoning and shared accountability activities, and applied in simulations and Unity Clinic, where learners navigate ethical decision‑making within interprofessional teams.

Roles & Responsibilities

Understanding professional roles begins in Intro to Interprofessional Education and is explicitly reinforced during All Professions Day 1 (APD1) through structured role clarification and interprofessional collaboration activities. Simulations and Unity Clinic further develop this competency by requiring learners to apply role knowledge dynamically in response to patient and community needs.

Interprofessional Communication

Interprofessional communication skills are developed early in Intro to Interprofessional Education and APD1, with emphasis on shared language, respectful dialogue, and active listening. Simulations provide repeated practice in complex team scenarios, while Unity Clinic offers authentic opportunities to communicate with patients, families, communities, and interprofessional team members.

Teams & Teamwork

Teamwork competencies are emphasized during APD2, where learners focus on team dynamics, leadership, and conflict management. Simulations strengthen collaborative performance under evolving conditions, and Unity Clinic serves as the primary applied setting for team‑based care. Synthesis experiences allow learners to integrate prior learning and deepen engagement with teamwork, reflection, and improvement.

Accreditation Alignment Across Health Professions

National accreditation standards across the health professions consistently require preparation for interprofessional, collaborative practice. The OU Health Campus IPE curriculum meets these expectations through a structured, longitudinal design that maps shared accreditation themes to required curricular experiences across programs.

This is completed by ensuring the themes of each accreditation requirement for all professions are mapped to specific curricular offerings.

Team‑Based Care

Preparation for team‑based care is a central feature of accreditation requirements across health professions. In the OUHC IPE curriculum, learners develop foundational teamwork skills through Intro to Interprofessional Education, strengthen team dynamics and shared accountability during All Professions Day 2 (APD2), and apply these competencies in simulation‑based learning and the Unity Clinic, where students function as members of interprofessional care teams. Synthesis experiences further support reflection on team performance and collaborative practice.

Collaborative Practice Readiness

Accreditation standards emphasize readiness for collaborative practice in complex healthcare and community settings. At OUHC, collaborative readiness is established in Intro to Interprofessional Education, reinforced through applied interprofessional learning during APD1 and APD2, and demonstrated through simulations and Unity Clinic experiences. These required activities prepare learners to engage effectively in collaborative care delivery prior to entry into professional practice.

Communication Across Professions

Effective communication across professions is a shared accreditation expectation. The OUHC IPE curriculum addresses this requirement beginning in Intro to Interprofessional Education and APD1, where learners practice shared language, role clarification, and respectful dialogue. Simulation experiences provide repeated opportunities to apply communication strategies in team‑based scenarios, while Unity Clinic supports authentic communication with patients, families, community partners, and interprofessional team members.

Ethical and Patient‑Centered Care

Accreditation standards require graduates to demonstrate ethical decision‑making and patient‑centered practice within interprofessional teams. These competencies are introduced in Intro to Interprofessional Education, reinforced during APD2 through activities emphasizing values, ethics, and shared responsibility, and applied in simulations and Unity Clinic, where learners address ethical considerations in real‑world interprofessional care contexts.

Quality Improvement and Systems Awareness

Quality improvement and systems awareness are increasingly emphasized across accreditation standards. The OUHC IPE curriculum addresses these themes through simulation‑based learning, practice‑based experiences, and synthesis activities that encourage reflection on care processes, team effectiveness, and system‑level outcomes. These experiences prepare learners to engage in continuous improvement and systems‑based practice as members of interprofessional teams.

OUHC IPE Curricular Framework

The OUHC IPE Curriculum follows a longitudinal framework that intentionally scaffolds interprofessional competencies across the educational continuum. Students engage in progressively complex learning experiences, from foundational concepts to applied practice and synthesis, ensuring development of collaborative competencies over time.

Foundational learning (e.g., Introduction to IPE online course, All Professions Day)

Practice-based interprofessional learning (e.g., IPE Team Based Communication Simulations)

Applied interprofessional experiences (e.g., IPE Clinical Experience referred to as Unity Clinic)

Synthesis & Reflection (e.g., IPE Poster Hall, Practicum, Capstone, and Internships)

Demonstrated Institutional Strengths

Longstanding, centralized IPE governance structure

Mandatory campus‑wide IPE experiences

Integration of education, practice, and community engagement

Systematic assessment of interprofessional competencies

Evidence‑based curricular design aligned with national frameworks

Supporting Documentation

IPE Curriculum Framework and Competency Alignment (PDF)

This document provides a detailed mapping of the 2023 IPEC Core Competencies to accreditation themes and required OU Health Campus interprofessional learning experiences.

Download the OUHC IPE Curriculum Framework

IPEC Competencies

Interprofessional Education Collaborative. (2023). Core competencies for interprofessional collaborative practice: Version 3. https://www.ipecollaborative.org/assets/core-competencies/IPEC_Core_Competencies_Version_3_2023.pdf