Implementation of Interprofessional Education Program in Single-Profession Institution

The New England College of Optometry (NECO) is a single-professional school in the process of formalizing an interprofessional education (IPE) program as part of the student curriculum. Barriers to implementation have included finding a partnership with other health professions, adding on activities to an already-full curriculum, establishing structural support, scheduling coursework with other schools and establishing faculty support.
Various institutions were contacted for potential IPE partnership, but well-established IPE programs did not have room for a new school and profession with whom to partner. With continuous networking, NECO secured partnership with an institution that was early in its IPE Center’s development. NECO faculty will contribute to the IPE exposure offerings to students from optometry, nursing, occupational therapy, and social work. Mentorship through the American Interprofessional Health Collaborative (AIHC) has played a role as a guide through the journey of implementation.

Infrastructural support has been most difficult due to the heavy course load of optometry graduate students. The plan is to implement a portion of the required elective hours to include IPE hours in the third year. Additional optional IPE hours will enable a student to earn a badge for interprofessional education and practice. Assessment of the program will be performed with the Interprofessional Collaborative Competencies Attainment Survey (ICCAS) tool for pre-activity and post-activity input from students and faculty. Plans for faculty training in facilitation are in progress. Faculty will also be invited to participate in facilitating the synchronous IPE activities. Faculty will be asked to take turns acting as facilitators during synchronous IPE activities.

Implementing an IPE program in a school with one health profession includes additional challenges, but finding an enthusiastic partner institution can be the first step toward successful curricular integration. As NECO moves forward in the first year of this program, continuous assessment will be made to collect data to further solidify and confirm the impact of the IPE experience for students and faculty. Further training of faculty will be an investment for strengthening the program in the future.

**AIHC Mentoring Program Poster Session**