Interprofessional Education (IPE) involves learning about, from and with each other, and sharing our different perspectives while learning together in areas of common interest in the practice of health care. On this page, we will keep you informed of our IPE plans, as well as the latest news from the Canadian and world-wide IPE movements.
If you have been involved, as an organizer or participant, in a successful IPE experience at George Brown, please email nursing@georgebrown.ca to let us know. We would like to use this space to celebrate our successes.
Ongoing and Recent Interprofessional Experiences
Below we present some great examples of ongoing and recent IPE student experiences. IPE experiences help our students to achieve the four IPE learning outcomes:
- Appraise the relationship between one’s own profession and the background, scope and roles of other healthcare professionals.
- Evaluate one’s ability to work in a team.
- Participate collaboratively as a health team member to support patients’ / clients' achievement of their expected health outcomes.
- Assess the impact of the broader legislative and ethical framework on interprofessional practice.
What we are up to…
The Sally Horsfall Eaton School of Nursing received several grants in 2021 and 2022 to develop virtual gaming simulations (VGS). One of our most recent VGS is focused on interprofessional practice and education and it was developed in partnership with SickKids, the Michener Institute, Simulation Canada and Affinity Learning using the funds received from an eCampusOntario grant. The VGS provides health care students and professionals with opportunities to develop knowledge and skill application, critical thinking and problem solving in providing care to a pediatric family in an emergency department. Learners are invited to make decisions in realistic situations and encouraged to try different approaches related to working within an interprofessional team in responding to a child experiencing a deteriorating respiratory condition. Our next VGS which is in development, as part of an interprofessional series, is focused on interprofessional education and practice to address the mental health needs of young adults — to be launched in March 2023.
The Sally Horsfall School of Nursing also partnered with Colleges Institutes Canada — for the Virtu-WIL Initiative in 2021, and this work is ongoing. Work-integrated learning opportunities in the health care sector, typically known as clinical placements, have been greatly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic which made in-person placements much harder to organize. The Virtu-WIL initiative helps address these challenges by creating new and innovative virtual ways for healthcare students in nursing, medical laboratory sciences, and paramedicine to acquire competencies and make valuable connections with employers. As part of this project, CICan is collaborating with Simulation Canada and George Brown (alongside other colleges, institutes and universities from across the country) to offer students innovative work-integrated learning opportunities using virtual simulation.
This interprofessional initiative creates sustainable, collaborative partnerships between post-secondary institutions, employers, students and suppliers to develop, implement and distribute virtual WIL simulation opportunities. The Virtu-WIL program also recognizes students for participating in a combination of virtual simulations and structured interactions with employers and helps them develop practical, job-ready competencies.
Fast Facts
- In 2021-2022, 37 post-secondary institutions worked together to develop 130 virtual simulations and design the Virtu-WIL Student Program.
- More than 2,000 students have successfully completed the Virtu-WIL program as of March 31st, 2022.
- Three advisory committees have been created to guide the project, bringing perspectives of large, small, urban, rural, and Northern institutions from across the country.
