Interprofessional Practice
Interprofessional practice is about working together in teams where team members work together effectively and efficiently. Initially based on my work in interprofessional healthcare education four shared core competencies emerged which all team members need to demonstrate:
| Competency | Description |
| Shared Language | Each profession has its own language, a short-hand that allows its practitioners to communicate quickly and efficiently. However, this language makes it challenging for communication between professions. A ‘Shared Language’ is one which all team members, regardless of professional language, can agree on and use to work together. |
| Role Clarity | Each member of a team brings a skill set (and sometimes multiple skill sets) useful to the team. Each role, and therefore each team member, is an essential element in a successful team. It is equally important for each member of the team to understand the roles and how each team member contributes. |
| Collaborative Decision Making | Each team member has a unique perspective on any given problem and should have an equal opportunity to contribute to and collaborate in, decision making processes. |
| Client-centered | We need to remain focused on our clients, their needs, and our responsibility to include them in decision-making that impacts them. |
These were informed by our work in Qatar (see Shared Core Competency Framework) and the work of the Canadian Interprofessional Health Collaborative (CIHC) and in particular by their Interprofessional Competency Framework