Interprofessional Practice and Education (IPE) functions as a centralized bridge for the schools (medical, health professions, graduate) at UT Southwestern to integrate and coordinate interprofessional education and collaborative practice.

Efforts in interprofessional education have grown at UT Southwestern Medical Center over the past 10 years. This growth requires centralized and coordinated interprofessional education activities within UT Southwestern, and in collaboration with other academic institutions.

IPE functions as a centralized structure to aid in planning and coordination of longitudinal interprofessional curricular activities. IPE coordinates activities such as Convergence, which had its beginnings as a Quality Enhancement Plan and has been sustained as a program to provide foundations in interprofessional education for students. IPE enhances specific missions within each professional academic program (medicine, physician assistant, physical therapy, clinical nutrition, etc.).

IPE also helps brings together key stakeholders across the campus (clinical, hospital, health system) in interprofessional practice and education to implement education, practice and innovation in centralized manner in alignment with the institutional mission and goals.