The Interprofessional Educational Exchange Project (iPEX): Developing Interprofessional Education in Palliative Care Across the Nation

The Interprofessional Education Exchange (iPEX) project provides training and mentoring in the development of interprofessional palliative education in oncology curricula and learning activities to select faculty teams from institutions across the nation. Funded by the National Cancer Institute R-25 mechanism, the first project year was spent designing a program to train faculty teams to develop and implement interprofessional education curricula in palliative care.

The program consists of two webinars: one introduces participants to the program, while the other focuses on SWOT analyses performed by each faculty team as well as facilitating leadership/organizational change. Additionally, there are three online modules on creating interprofessional collaborative learning experiences, palliative care in oncology, and case-based online learning. It is a formative curriculum, culminating in a two-and-a-half-day, face-to-face workshop. The workshop is focused on experiential learning. Participants learn and practice interactive techniques as well as reflective activities, develop their facilitation skills, and work in teams to develop a plan for improving interprofessional palliative education at their home institutions. Follow-up mentoring via teleconference calls and a final webinar where programs share their progress and plans for the future are also essential program components.

Eight faculty teams are selected annually based on a competitive application process. Teams represent a variety of educational institutions (private, public, small, large, etc.) and health care systems from across the nation. Team projects developed during the program have included: creation of curricula to teach students and practitioners; creation of workshops where interprofessional palliative care practices are experienced; development of certificate programs in palliative care; training programs, which teach advance care planning and communication; and course development focused on interprofessional education in palliative oncology care.

While the workshop is the most highly-evaluated component of the iPEX project, all aspects have received favorable evaluations. Pre and post-test quantitative results and qualitative results from written reflections will be shared.

Barbara A. Head, PhD, CHPN, ACSW, FPCN, APHSW-C
Associate Professor
University of Louisville School of Medicine
501 East Broadway, Med Center One, Suite 330B
Louisville, KY 40223
(502) 852-3014