Interprofessional Education Awards

IPER Awards

Awards Eligibility

• Faculty and staff must be employed by Texas A&M University or Texas A&M Health to be eligible for Excellence and IPER Symposium Lightning Talk awards.
• Students must be enrolled at least part-time at Texas A&M University or Texas A&M Health to be eligible for Excellence and IPER Symposium Lightning Talk awards.
• Individual nominees for Excellence awards must not have received the award previously.
• Individual faculty nominees for the Excellence in IPE, Teaching award must have had IPE teaching or supervisory responsibilities directly with health professions students at Texas A&M University or Texas A&M Health; faculty team nominees must have had a leader or co-leader position with the same.
• For faculty to be eligible for an IPER Symposium Lightning Talk – Innovative Interprofessional Activity award, the interprofessional activity submitted must be registered in the IPE Learning Activity Registry.
• Nominations for the Community Partner Award for Interprofessional Excellence must be for organizations that have contributed significantly to promoting the opportunity or environment for interprofessional learning.

IPER Awards

Peer Review Process

Members of the IPE Leadership Team (or their college proxy) will evaluate nominations for Excellence Awards submissions. The review will consist of members from at least two health professions disciplines.  Any IPE Leadership Team member (or their proxy) who is nominated for an Excellence Award will not be included in the review process for their award category.

Lighting Talk awards are based on People's Choice and are voted on by symposium participants during the event.

IPER Awards

Key Dates - 2024

Lightning Talk Abstracts Due

    Sunday, October 27 (by 11:59 pm) 

Symposium Registration Deadline

    Friday, November 1 (by 11:59 pm) 

Notification of Lightning Talk Acceptance

    Friday, November 1 (by 5:00 pm) 

Excellence Award Nominations Due

     Monday, November 4 (by 11:59 pm)

Slide for Accepted Lightning Talks Due

    Friday, November 8 (by 12:00 pm) 

Excellence & Lightning Talk Award Announcements

     Wednesday, November 13 at IPER 10 Symposium (11:30 am)

IPER Awards

Excellence Award Descriptions & Criteria

Leadership Award for Interprofessional Excellence

Type - Individual, Faculty
Purpose - To recognize a leader whose contribution has had a significant impact on IPE at Texas A&M Health or Texas A&M University
Criteria - Demonstrates excellence in leading IPE through at least 3 of the following 5 criteria:

• Acting as an organizational champion for interprofessional education and inspiring others across Texas A&M Health and Texas A&M University to engage in IPE activities
• Promoting collaborative practice among Texas A&M health professions learners and in the local or regional community
• Serving as an exemplary role model of the IPEC Core Competencies
• Developing organizational and/or institutional structures to support the development/implementation of IPE
• Actively contributing toward the mission of Texas A&M Health IPE

Teaching Award for Interprofessional Excellence

Type - Individual/Team, Faculty
Purpose - To recognize an individual(s) whose efforts have made a significant and sustained impact on interprofessional learning for Texas A&M health professions students
Criteria - Exhibits excellence in facilitating interprofessional learning groups by meeting at least 3 of the following 4 criteria:

• Engages in interprofessional curriculum development, implementation, and/or evaluation and/or facilitates programmatic initiatives for learners of two or more professions simultaneously to foster a climate of mutual respect and shared values (Values/Ethics for Interprofessional Practice)
• Actively involved in or coordinates/leads initiatives that motivate learners to use knowledge of their own roles and those of other professions to appropriately assess and address the health care needs of patients/clients and to promote and advance the health of populations (Roles/Responsibilities)
• Promotes communication with and among learners, peers, and professionals in health and other fields in a respectful and responsive manner that supports a team approach (Interprofessional Communication)
• Educates learners on relationship-building values and the principles of team dynamics to perform effectively in different team and leadership roles (Teams and Teamwork)

Research Award for Interprofessional Excellence

Type - Individual/Team, Faculty
Purpose - To recognize excellence in academic research that informs and advances pedagogy for interprofessional education and/or the field of collaborative practice
Criteria - Nominee must have conducted research that is directly related to interprofessional education and/or collaborative practice (see Awards Overview & Terminology) and grounded in the relevant literature. This includes, but is not limited to theoretical perspectives, methodologies, evaluation, and generation of evidence-based knowledge. The research direction should be indicative of innovation which has the potential to encourage further research, either by the faculty member or others in the field.   Note: Research conducted by interdisciplinary teams does not automatically qualify for this award. See Awards Overview & Terminology. For questions, contact IPER Assistant Vice President, Chris Kaunas at ckaunas@tamu.edu.
Appropriate Areas for Scholarship - For this award, appropriate areas of scholarship directly inform and advance interprofessional education and/or collaborative practice to achieve the Quintuple Aim. The main focus of the Journal of Interprofessional Care, the Journal of Interprofessional Education & Practice, and the Journal of Research in Interprofessional Practice and Education is interprofessional education and collaborative practice. These publications provide numerous examples of areas of scholarship that are an appropriate focus for this award.

Pillar Award for Interprofessional Excellence

Type -  Individual, Staff
Purpose - To recognize the outstanding commitment and invaluable contribution of staff to  interprofessional education at Texas A&M
Criteria - Nominee must have participated in a service capacity for at least one interprofessional activity organized through the Office of Interprofessional Practice, Education, & Research (e.g. evaluator for Disaster Day, registration for Flu Clinics, etc.). Nominee must demonstrate knowledge of the IPEC Core Competencies and how they apply to students, staff, and faculty.

Student Leadership Award for Interprofessional Excellence

Type -  Individual/Team, Student
Purpose - To recognize a student(s) whose efforts have resulted in a sustained impact on interprofessional education at the Texas A&M
Criteria - Exhibits excellence in contributions to interprofessional education at Texas A&M through at least 3 of the following 4 criteria:

• Assumes a leadership role in programmatic activities where students from two or more professions learn about, from, and with each other simultaneously to foster a climate of mutual respect and shared values (Values/Ethics for Interprofessional Practice)
• Plays a leadership role in programmatic activities that encourages students to use knowledge of their own roles and those of other professions to appropriately assess and address the health care needs of patients/clients and/or to promote and advance the health of populations (Roles/Responsibilities)
• Promotes student communication with peers and professionals in health and other fields in a respectful and responsive manner that supports a team approach (Interprofessional Communication)
• Applies and advances training in the principles of team dynamics and relationship building values to effectively perform in different team roles to develop programmatic activities and deliver patient and/or population-centered care in future practice (Teams and Teamwork)

Community Partner Award for Interprofessional Excellence

Type - Organization
Purpose - To recognize and thank community partners across the state of Texas that provide and sustain transformative learning opportunities for Texas A&M health professions students from two or more professions to learn about, from, and with each other
Criteria - Eligible partners are those that support the Office of Interprofessional Practice, Education, & Research’s mission, which was developed by the IPE Leadership Team, to:

• provide faculty and students with transformative interprofessional learning experiences that support the development of skills needed for patient-centered, collaborative practice;
• advance research and scholarly activity of Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice; and/or
• advance the practice of effective and efficient interprofessional team-based care to improve individual patient and population health outcomes.

IPER Awards

Excellence Award Nomination Guidelines

Nominator's should review this document, which is a .pdf of the Excellence Award Nominiation Form, before submitting the Excellence Award Nomination Form.  This will aid in ensuring nominators are awared in advance of submission what is required for a nomintation.  For example, nominator's must include the following documents:

• Letter of Nomination from Dean(s) which emphasizes how the nominee or team meets the award criteria
  • If the nomintation is for a team, the single Letter of Nomination should be on behalf of/signed by all relevant deans.
• 1-3 Letters of Support (students, faculty, other collaborators), which focus on the nominee’s or team's distinguished efforts to elevate interprofessional education and collaborative practice.

Files should be in .pdf format.  Use the file naming conventions in the examples below.

• Smith_School.pdf (individual nomination)
• Team Name.pdf (team nomination)

Lightning Talks

Overview & Abstract Acceptance Criteria

Lightning Talks Overview

Lightning Talks are presented annually in the fall during the IPER Symposium.  They provide an opportunity for Texas A&M health professions students, faculty, and staff to share their relevant efforts and research.  For each symposium, Lightning Talks focus on:

• interprofessional education (IPE) or collaborative practice (IPC), and/or
• the symposium topic (e.g., One Health, Trauma Informed Care, AI) and how it is relevant to patient and/or population health, teams and teamwork, and/or health professions education.

Two types of Lightning Talk abstracts are accepted:

1. Innovative Interprofessional Activity (e.g., in the classroom, co-curricular, simulation, experiential learning, learning in practice, etc.)
2. Innovative Research (related to IPE, IPC, or that year’s symposium topic)
   • For examples of the types of IPE and IPC research that will be accepted, review submissions to the journals listed on this webpage.
   • NOTE: Basic science research is not appropriate for this venue.

Abstract Acceptance Criteria

Given the Lightning Talk session is only 30 minutes, only six or fewer submissions are accepted for the event.  Other submissions may be accepted to be featured on the IPER Symposium webpage and social media after the event.

Submitted abstracts are accepted for the IPER Symposium Lightning Talk session based on the criteria below.

• Innovative Interprofessional Activity
  • Focus on IPE or IPC and/or relevance to IPER Symposium topic
  • Educational Purpose of Activity
  • Description of Activity Development
  • Mapping to IPEC Core Competencies
  • Student Assessment and/or Activity Evaluation
  • Potential for Sustainability

• Innovative Research (related to IPE, IPC, or that year’s symposium topic)

• • Focus on IPE or IPC and/or relevance to IPER Symposium topic
  • Well-defined Aims/Background
  • Appropriate Methodology
  • Appropriate Analytical Interpretation
  • Sound Discussion
  • Potential for Publication

Lightning Talks

Abstract Submission Guidelines

Submit your abstract by completing the online Lightning Talk Abstract Submission Form. All abstracts must be ≤ 500 words and include:

• Title
• Background Purpose (problem statement or hypothesis)
• Description (program materials or methodology)
• Impact or Results
• References (not included in word count)

Abstract files should be submitted in .pdf format.  Use the file naming conventions in the example below.  Only the intended presenter's name should be part of the file name.

• Last Name_College/School/Program.pdf

Lightning Talks

Presenter Information & Award Criteria

Lightning Talk Presenter Information

For accepted Lightning Talk abstracts, presenters may be the submitting author (for individual submissions) or an individual selected by a team on behalf of the team's effort.

The presenter must:

• attend the IPER Symposium to present their talk during the scheduled Lightning Talk session
• prepare and submit one slide to support their talk by the given deadline (see Key Dates)
  • The IPER Office team will share and advance slides during the Lightning Talk session.
• prepare a 3–5-minute talk summarizing their work during the Lightning Talk session

Award Criteria

Lighting Talk awards are based on People's Choice and are voted on by symposium participants during the event.  Participants will be encouraged to select presentations that: 1) demonstrate clarity of purpose, 2) have substantial impact on IPE/IPC or the symposium topic, and 3) are well organized and professionally presented.

IPER Awards

Award Types & Amounts

IPER Awards

2023 Award Recipients

Congratulations!  Below are the awardees for the 2023 (IPER 9) Interprofessional Education Excellence Awards and Lightning Talks Awards.

Excellence Awards

Student Leadership Awards for Interprofessional Excellence - Students

  Lyssa Losa, School of Public Health

   Justin Dugie, School of Medicine

  Amanda Duong, School of Medicine

   Kyana Calvo, School of Nursing

   Gabriella Lara, School of Nursing

Teaching Awards for Interprofessional Excellence - Faculty

  Angela Clendenin, School of Public Health

  Lori Greenwood, School of Athletic Training

  Shirley Lewis, School of Dentistry

  Lynde Buras, School of Pharmacy

 Kelly Sopchak, School of Medicine

Leadership Award for Interprofessional Excellence - Individuals

   Lara Coseo, School of Dentistry

   Sharon Dormie, School of Nursing

Pillar Award for Interprofessional Excellence - Staff

  Cali Harper, School of Medicine

Lightning Talks: People's Choice Awards

Natural Language Processing in Interprofessional Practice for Mounjaro Adverse DDIs with Oral Contraceptives 
Brianna Williams, School of Pharmacy

Empowering Women Healthcare Access: Addressing Disparities in Underserved Texas Regions Through AI
Kayley Vu, School of Performance, Visualization & Fine Arts

Using AI Chatbot to Prepare Nursing Educational Materials: Promising Capabilities and Potential Limitations
Shemy Nguyen, School of Education & Human Development