Learning in Practice

What is Learning in Practice? 

Learning in Practice is the next phase of IPER’s interprofessional education curriculum.  It builds on the Foundational Curriculum by moving students from structured applied learning, such as case discussions and simulations, into advanced experiential learning in authentic clinical and community settings.   

Operation Border Health (OBH) is an existing example of advanced experiential interprofessional learning in a community setting.  Students participating in OBH integrate into this State of Texas disaster preparedness exercise in multiple cities along the south Texas boarder; they support patient care and community health.    

IPER is now working to expand Learning in Practice beyond OBH by identifying and developing additional opportunities for interprofessional clinical rotations and community-based experiential learning. 

Why is IPER developing Learning in Practice? 

Students need opportunities not only to learn about collaboration, but also to practice intentional, effective collaboration.  Learning in Practice is intended to help students apply interprofessional competencies with real patients, communities, and populations and graduate both experienced in collaboration and ready for collaborative practice. 

How is Learning in Practice different from IPER’s Foundational Curriculum? 

The two are complementary. 

Foundational Curriculum: Students learn about collaboration through sequenced learning, including case-based learning, simulation, facilitated discussion, and team-based problem solving. 

Learning in Practice: Students practice collaboration through advanced experiential learning in authentic clinical and community environments. 

When will Learning in Practice begin? 

Expansion efforts will be piloted in AY26–27.  The pilots will help IPER and participating colleges determine what approaches are educationally meaningful, feasible, and sustainable before broader expansion. 

What is the long-term goal? 

The long-term goal is to create an intentional continuum of interprofessional learning across Texas A&M Health: 

Learn about Effective Collaboration → Practice Effective Collaboration 

Together, the Foundational Curriculum and Learning in Practice are intended to prepare graduates who can enter the workforce ready to contribute effectively to interprofessional teams with the ultimate goal of improving health outcomes. 

What kinds of experiences will be included? 

The focus is on clinical rotations and community-based experiential learning where students from different professions can learn about, from, and with each other while participating in meaningful team-based care or service. 

What do students do in these experiences? 

Students will participate as members of interprofessional learning teams, applying their profession-specific knowledge while developing the interprofessional competencies of communication, role clarity, teamwork, shared decision-making and leadership, and collaborative problem solving.  This dual identify formation is critical to effective collaborative practice. 

Will every student have the same Learning in Practice experience? 

No, but the experiences will be comparable.  While students will focus on developing their dual identity of a health professional and a team member, Learning in Practice is intended to support a developmental progression, not a single standardized experience for every student or program.   

Each clinical or community setting offers different opportunities for meaningful interprofessional learning.  Depending on the setting, students might participate in activities such as medication reconciliation, patient rounds, care planning, emergency or Code Blue responses, transitions of care, community needs assessment, health education and outreach, screening initiatives, data-informed planning, emergency preparedness, or collaboration with community organizations and health care teams.  Experiences may therefore look different across professions, settings, and stages of training while still addressing common interprofessional learning goals. 

Who Develops the experiences, and how are they sustained? 

Learning in Practice experiences are being developed through an interprofessional faculty committee with representatives from participating colleges coordinated by the IPER Office.  Faculty and clinicians are integral partners in this work, and their practice and teaching expertise shapes what these experiences become.  IPER’s role is to carry the administrative and coordination work that keeps them running.  The committee works with clinical and community partner sites to develop, implement, and assess the experiences, and IPER works to ensure that successful ones are sustained over time rather than being one-time activities. 

Will this create more work for faculty or clinicians? 

Learning in Practice is being designed to integrate into existing clinical and community environments.  IPER is working to identify places where interprofessional learning can happen in an already existing workflow and proactively collaborates to minimize the workload burden on faculty, clinicians, and staff.  

Will clinicians be expected to develop new IPE activities? 

Not necessarily.  In many settings, opportunities for interprofessional learning already exist when learners from different professions are present together.  IPER and the interprofessional faculty committees, working with clinicians and other stakeholders in the setting, will help identify where relatively small changes in learner coordination, expectations, reflection, or assessment can make an existing experience authentically and intentionally interprofessional.    

Clinicians bring the practice expertise that makes these experiences meaningful.  Designing and coordinating them is work IPER and the faculty committee take on, not something clinicians are asked to do on their own.  Clinicians can, however, contribute as little or as much as they want to program development. 

Can students help shape future Learning in Practice opportunities? 

Yes.  Student representatives will work alongside the interprofessional faculty committee to help develop and refine experiences, bringing the learner perspective to decisions about what is meaningful, feasible, and educationally valuable. 

Who is leading the effort? 

Learning in Practice development is being spearheaded by Rebecca Lee, MD, IPER Health Priority Integration Director and EnMed IPE Integration Thread Leader, and Helene Phu, MEd, RN, IPER Program Manager, alongside participating college faculty and staff.  They are working to identify, develop, implement, and assess opportunities that fit naturally within existing curricula and learning environments. 

How can I learn more or get involved? 

Students interested in participating, faculty and clinicians who see potential for interprofessional learning in their setting, and community partners interested in hosting students can contact the IPER Office at IPER@tamu.edu.