Upon graduation from the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix, the goal is for our medical students to function collaboratively on health care teams that include health professionals from other disciplines. Together with these other health professionals, they will be able to coordinate services to patients to improve quality of patient care, patient outcomes and the patient experience.

Using the "National Core Competencies for Interprofessional Practice (PDF),” our students will be able to:

  • Work with individuals of other professions to maintain a climate of mutual respect and shared values.
  • Use the knowledge of one’s own role and those of other professions to appropriately assess and address the healthcare needs of the patients and populations served.
  • Communicate with patients, families, communities, and other health professionals in a responsive and responsible manner that supports a team approach to the maintenance of health and the treatment of disease.
  • Apply relationship-building values and the principles of team dynamics to perform effectively in different team roles to plan and deliver patient/population-centered care that is safe, timely, efficient, effective and equitable.

The learning objectives to achieve this goal include:

  • Describe the roles and responsibilities of other health care professionals.
  • Recognize the contribution each profession brings to the care of patients to optimize patient outcomes.
  • Practice mutual respect and shared values when working with individuals in other professions.
  • Communicate with patients, families and other health care team members in a responsible and responsive manner.
  • Experience working on a team with other health care professionals to deliver patient-centered, team-based care.
  • Overview of Interprofessional Education at college.

The College of Medicine – Phoenix is committed to providing experiences in which the students engage in learning activities with students from other health professions (University of Arizona, College of Pharmacy, College of Public Health, College of Nursing, NAU College of Allied Health and Arizona State University: School of Social Work, College of Nursing and School of Nutrition and Health Promotion).

Health care delivery must evolve into a more interprofessional approach to meet the health care needs and to provide the best health care outcomes for patients. The importance of this goal is underscored by the recognition and support of interprofessional collaborative practice core competencies by an expert panel of the Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC)*.

The Interprofessional Collaborative Practice Competency Domains are: Interprofessional Communication; Roles/Responsibilities; Teams and Teamwork; and Values/Ethics for Interprofessional Practice.

Competency Module Example Videos

*Report of an expert panel: Core Competencies for Interprofessional Collaborative Practice, May, 2011. (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine, American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, American Dental Association, Association of American Medical Colleges, and Association of Schools of Public Health.)