Practical information for healthcare leaders

Healthcare leaders are increasingly expected to deliver system-level outcomes inside environments that were never designed for collaboration.

Even when teams are capable, committed, and well-intentioned, gaps still emerge in communication, coordination, and shared expectations. These gaps are not usually the result of effort or motivation. They are the result of systems that assume collaboration will happen, rather than intentionally preparing people and structures to support it.

To deliver effective, efficient, equitable, quality, safe, and timely care, professionals must learn how to collaborate before they are asked to do so in complex practice environments.

Yet most leaders were never taught how to evaluate collaboration readiness, how to design collaborative systems, or how to align team members who were trained differently. As a result, collaboration is often treated as a personality trait or a meeting outcome, rather than a skillset that must be developed, reinforced, and supported over time.

Collaboration does not just happen. It must be designed, practiced, and strengthened, like any other critical capability.

This is the purpose of interprofessional education, or IPE.

Why language and definitions matter

In my work, research, and commentary in the Journal of Interprofessional Care, I often discuss how inconsistent terminology dilutes evidence and confuses expectations. When teams use different language to describe the same concepts, collaboration becomes harder to evaluate, harder to teach, and harder to sustain.

For leaders, this matters.

Clear definitions allow leaders to set clear expectations, align strategy, and design systems that support collaboration rather than relying on individual effort.

In other words, words matter, especially when you are responsible for system-level outcomes.

So what is the official definition of IPE?

Across organizations, the wording varies slightly. Here is how several leading organizations define interprofessional education:

Centre for the Advancement of Interprofessional Education (CAIPE, 2002) “Occasions when members or students of two or more professions learn with, from and about each other to improve collaboration and the quality of care and services.”

World Health Organization (WHO, 2010) “Students from two or more professions learn about, from, and with each other to enable effective collaboration and improve health outcomes.”

National Academies of Practice (NAP, 2022) “Occasions where learners, including students, residents, and health workers, of two or more professions learn with, from, and about each other to improve collaboration and quality of care.”

Why these definitions matter to leaders

When you compare these definitions, you can see how interprofessional education has evolved to reflect today’s healthcare realities:

• A broader range of learners, beyond traditional students

• Modern care environments, including virtual and asynchronous settings

• Increasing recognition of patients and families as partners in care

IPE has matured from a classroom-based activity into a continuum of learning that spans the education-to-practice journey.

Its purpose is to prepare future and current health professionals for interprofessional collaborative practice, the kind of teamwork leaders often wish their departments demonstrated naturally but that rarely emerges without intentional design.

Interprofessional education is relevant for:

• Pre-health students

• Health professional students

• Residents and fellows

• Practicing health professionals

• Health workers across the system

Interprofessional collaboration is a lifelong capability, not a one-time training event.

Why understanding IPE matters for healthcare leaders

When leaders understand interprofessional education as a system-level lever, they are better positioned to:

• Hire more effectively

• Set clearer expectations for teamwork

• Build confidence among team members

• Reduce fragmentation between departments

• Support shared decision making and psychological safety

Knowing the definition of IPE is not academic. It is strategic.

This clarity becomes the foundation for the collaborative systems leaders are trying to design every day. Without it, collaboration remains dependent on personalities, goodwill, and individual effort. With it, collaboration can be intentionally supported by structure.

Ready to strengthen collaboration on your team?

If you are accountable for system-level outcomes but were never trained to design interprofessional collaboration, this is where the work begins.

You can take the next step by:

1. Reviewing the 9 Essentials to Design System-Level Interprofessional Collaboration

2. Working with me one-to-one to design collaboration that is supported by structure, not personal effort

Collaborate for Health equips department-level healthcare leaders with the knowledge and skills to intentionally design interprofessional collaborative practice that supports system-level outcomes.

Let’s collaborate for health. We are better together.

Visit: collaborateforhealth.com