NBME Collaborates on a New Evidence-Based Interprofessional Professionalism Assessment Tool
The Interprofessional Professionalism Collaborative (IPC) is pleased to announce the publication of its landmark article – The Intersection of Professionalism and Interprofessional Care: Development and Initial Testing of the Interprofessional Professionalism Assessment (IPA). The final published article is now on Taylor and Francis Online and will be assigned to a future issue of the Journal of Interprofessional Care. The IPA instrument was created by the IPC, a national group representing 11 entry-level health professions and the NBME.
"NBME is honored to have collaborated on the Interprofessional Professionalism Assessment and its accompanying tool kit. This work advances assessment of interprofessional professionalism and collaboration among health professionals," said Dr. Peter Katsufrakis, President and CEO of the National Board of Medical Examiners. "We serve the public through state-of-the-art assessment of health professionals, and we remain committed to research and development in evaluation and measurement."
Interprofessional Professionalism is the consistent demonstration of core values evidenced by professionals working together, aspiring to and wisely applying principles of altruism and caring, excellence, ethics, respect, communication, and accountability to achieve optimal health and wellness in individuals and communities.
"The ability of health care practitioners to demonstrate interprofessional professionalism is essential to the delivery of quality care to patients, families, communities, and society," said Dr. Jody Frost, Education Consultant and IPC Facilitator. "As profiled in the Journal of Interprofessional Care, the new psychometrically sound assessment instrument developed by the IPC can be applied in both academic and practice settings to cultivate environments that promote interprofessional professionalism and collaborative care models."
The IPA measures observable behaviors of health care professionals-in-training that demonstrate professionalism and collaboration, which are essential to person-centered care. The instrument was created and evaluated over several years through a comprehensive, multi-phasic process, which included the development of a construct and observable behaviors; instrument design, expert review, and cognitive interviews; and psychometric testing.
"As a pharmacist, who worked on multidisciplinary health care teams, I believe the construct of interprofessional professionalism is integral to successful collaboration among health care professionals in providing optimal patient care," said Jennifer Wise, NBME representative on the IPC. "I am proud to be a member of the IPC and believe the IPA and the accompanying Tool Kit will be great educational resources."
The IPA contains 26 items or observable behaviors representing six domains of professionalism (altruism and caring, excellence, ethics, respect, communication, accountability), and was tested by 233 preceptors who rated health profession learners in the final year of their practical training.
In addition to the new journal article, the IPC has created an online tool kit to facilitate interprofessional professionalism, which includes the IPA Instrument, case scenario videos, an on-demand webinar, and related materials. To access these resources, visit http://www.interprofessionalprofessionalism.org.