Joint Accreditation Leaders Co-Author Editorial in the Journal of Interprofessional Care
In an editorial in the Journal of Interprofessional Care, Joint Accreditation cofounders describe lessons learned from the journey to create Joint Accreditation for Interprofessional Continuing Education™ and identify opportunities for other stakeholders to join together. The editorial, “Leading by Example: The Role of Accreditors in Promoting Interprofessional Collaborative Practice,” by Kathy Chappell, PhD, RN, Senior Vice President of Accreditation, Certification, Measurement, and Institute for Credentialing Research, American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC); Kate Regnier, MA, MBA, Executive Vice President, Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME); and Dimitra Travlos, PharmD, Assistant Executive Director & Director of Continuing Pharmacy Education Provider Accreditation, Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), was published online on February 7, 2018.
Representing over five million physicians, nurses, and pharmacists who engage in continuing professional development (CPD), the Joint Accreditation cofounders have created a unique program and credit system to incentivize development of and participation in interprofessional continuing education (IPCE). Joint Accreditation for Interprofessional Continuing Education offers continuing education providers a unified, streamlined accreditation process and set of standards. This collaboration has led to a significant increase in the number of organizations developing team-based education, and an increase in the ability to measure team performance and patient outcomes.
“Our interprofessional collaboration can be operationalized by other stakeholders, and collectively, we can continue to positively impact health care practice and patient outcomes globally,” the co-authors write.
They provide several suggestions to further advance IPCE that can be employed by individual healthcare professionals, faculty, CE and CPD providers/organizations, professional membership associations and specialty societies, employers of healthcare professionals, accrediting and certifying organizations, and regulatory bodies.
In conclusion, the co-authors state, “By applying the tenets of IPCP beyond individual healthcare teams to collaborations among systems, regulatory bodies, accreditors, and institutions, we can create sustainable frameworks for transforming all healthcare into collaborative care.”
Learn more about Joint Accreditation for Interprofessional Continuing Education here.