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CIPE is now CACHE

Senior Interprofessional Design Projects

Description

The 2025 Senior Interprofessional Design Projects have been created for senior health profession students as an opportunity to partner with a community organization to address an area for future development while advancing collaborative leadership and interprofessional team competencies. 
 

Applications open until January 3, 2025! Click here to fill out the application form.
 

Objectives

Collaborative Competence Objectives

Students will:

  • Establish effective relationships with service users and other team members to support a common goal
  • Reflect on team values to advance team function
  • Effectively apply collaborative decision-making principles
  • Contribute to co-creation of a climate for collaborative leadership

Project Objectives:

Students will:

  • Present a project idea that aligns with the organization’s needs
  • Demonstrate a collaborative effort in designing the idea
  • Present ideas in a professional manner

 

Collaborators

  1. Partner Organization: A representative will be available to provide an introduction to the organization, services offered and needs to be addressed. They will be available at orientation and consultation nights. They will also be evaluators during the final presentation.
  2. Service User: Where possible, a service user will be associated with each of the student teams to provide personal experience related to the organization needs. If a service user is part of the collaborative team, they may also take part in the orientation, consultation and presentation nights.
  3. Faculty Lead: A faculty lead will be available to assist teams at orientation and consultation nights. Teams are also responsible for scheduling at least one meeting with their faculty lead outside of those formal times. Faculty leads will also be evaluators during the final presentation.

 

Projects

The Issue:

People with disabilities face many challenges in their daily lives. Despite ongoing advocacy, our world is still not designed to be fully accessible. People with disabilities do not have the financial security they deserve, and many are living in poverty. All too often, resources, supports, and services are difficult to find and/or access.  People with disabilities rely on our healthcare system and services in our community to offer support and help them find what the need. However, many healthcare professionals and valuable members of our communities do not receive sufficient education or information about the barriers people with disabilities face, or how they can help. This is a system issue that is impacting so many areas of society including healthcare.  We need to be thinking about improvements that can be made upstream, that will positively influence the system downstream. 

The Opportunity:

Imagine people with disabilities get information about resources and services that will benefit them, when they need them.  Imagine they are made aware of financial supports that are available to them, that could help put food on the table.  Imagine they are made aware of programs that will support them in building skills and knowledge that boosts their confidence and allows them to find meaningful employment.

  • How do we educate the community, organizations, health and social care providers and teams about disability and the challenges that exist?
  • How do we raise awareness across the whole system about resources, services, and benefits that exist for people with disabilities, so we can all improve access and not assume someone else is doing it?
  • How do we inspire health and social care providers and teams to feel accountable to get educated and share information that will help someone with a disability?
  • What is the best way to educate and share information with the community, organizations, health and social care providers and teams so they all can collaboratively support people with disabilities in finding the resources and services that will benefit them?

Considerations:

  • Resources and services that exist both provincially and federally. Consider all domains - financial supports (disability tax credit), emotional supports, physical supports, etc.
  • How do we ensure the information is kept up to date about what exists?
  • What might be the best format to provide education to be inclusive and collaborative of all the different stakeholders, professions and teams?
  • Should we consider different ways to inform regulated healthcare professionals vs teams vs organizations vs community partners OR is there one way?
  • How do we ensure information is provided at the right time, with the right people, in the right places and spaces?
  • Are there privacy considerations?
  • What are the DEI considerations?
  • Are there innovative collaborative or integrated approaches to consider?
  • How do we sustain this type of education?
  • Consider the intersecting and compounding impacts of social determinants of health on the health and experiences of people with disabilities.

Organizational Support: March of Dimes Canada

Selection Process

In January, interested students will be matched with three to five other students representing various professional programs.

Acceptance Criteria

  1. Students must have completed the first year of their professional program - Exception: Physician Assistant; Master of Professional Kinesiology; Social Work (Advanced Standing).
  2. Applicant must complete the online application form within the given deadlines.
  3. The applicant must prepare a statement explaining why and how it is anticipated that the project will enhance his/her development of interprofessional competencies. Critical and reflective language, interests and interprofessional context as it relates to the project theme will be considered in the selection process.
  4. The selection committee will ensure that a mix of students from various programs are selected to bring interprofessional perspectives to the project.

Student Expectations

Students will:

  1. Apply by January 3, 2025.
  2. Attend the virtual orientation session on Wednesday, January 15, 2025 at 5:15pm via Zoom to meet your team members, faculty lead, and learn about the organization, project topic and expectations. Several teams of students will be responding to the same organization need.
  3. Bring their schedules to the orientation, so they can schedule meetings with their team. Each team is responsible for coordinating and managing all of their own meetings, including those with faculty leads.
  4. Work with their team members to address the identified area of service enhancement throughout the term, applying a collaborative approach. Where possible, team members will have access to a service user representing or linked to the partner organization.
  5. Dedicate approximately 25 hours (plus requisite orientation, consult and final presentation) throughout the term to this project.
  6. Schedule at least one meeting in February to consult with their faculty lead or service user (if applicable).
  7. Schedule the virtual consultation on Wednesday, February 12th, 2025 between 5:15-7:15pm to touch base with the organization and your faculty lead to ask additional questions for a period of 30 minutes. Student teams will sign up for a time slot within this timeframe at orientation night.
  8. Take the time to reflect on the group process, collaborative leadership and team functioning, using the forms provided.
  9. Present a potential solution to the partner organization need on Wednesday, March 26, 2025, 5:15pm - in person. Student groups will have 10 minutes to pitch their ideas and organizations as well as 5 minutes to showcase their Collaborative Leadership throughout the process. An additional 5 minutes is scheduled for the organization to ask questions of the student team.

 

Completion

Upon successful completion, each student will receive 2 IPE elective recognition and a certificate recognizing completion issued by the Centre for Advancing Collaborative Healthcare & Education (CACHE), University of Toronto.

Recognition of successful completion will require:

  1. Completion of the student team reflection on team process;
  2. Signing off on contribution of each group members;
  3. Presentation to the partner organization;
  4. A Passing Grade on the final project, including evidence of meeting the appropriate time expectations.

 

Final Presentation: Wednesday, March 26, 2025, 5:15pm (in person)

  1. Students will email their presentation and any additional materials to sabrina.bartlett@uhn.ca
  2. Students will have 10 minutes to present their pitch to the partner organization as well as 5 minutes to showcase their Collaborative Leadership throughout the process. An additional 5 minutes is scheduled for the organization to ask questions of the student team.
  3. The organization and faculty lead will have 5 minutes to provide written feedback to each team based on the rubric provided.
  4. Students will provide supplementary materials to the partner organization.

It is not the expectation that students work with the organization upon completion of the project, although some may choose to do so.

 

Project Contact Information

If you have any questions contact:

Integration Lead, Collaborative Healthcare & Education, CACHE, Dean Lising, dean.lising@uhn.ca

Manager, Curriculum & Education Innovation, CACHE, Sabrina Bartlett, Sabrina.bartlett@uhn.ca