Sickkids IPP Week is November 17th to 20th 2008

Interprofessional Practise is about how several teams with very different specialists work together well to care for and support sick kids and their families. In this era of complex medicine, ethical decisions and budget cuts, IPP excites us on this blog because it impacts "everything" relating to how our kids are cared for: health stats, errors, efficiency and satisfaction scores. Successful IPP is also in my humble opinion a prerequisite for successful family centred care aiming ultimately to foster true partnership between medical staff and patients and families. (See Ontario Hospital Association May 5, 2008 symposium poster)

The second Sickkids IPP symposium on Tuesday November 18 anchors a week long series of Interprofessional practise events profiling IPP staff education strategies and examples of collaboration in action. This includes updates on IPP student placements, best practises, teamwork and patient safety and innovations in IPP education. The roster is being finalized but the symposium itself begins with Margaret Keatings, Chief of Interprofessional Practise and Chief Nurse Executive, Sickkids, and Dr. Joshua Tepper, Assistant Deputy Director, Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. The keynote is from scientist, research lead and U of T academic Scott Reeves. Sickkids social worker David Nicholas speaks to the needs of professionals based on analysis of the raw video interviews on IPP and family centred care. A McMaster Team OSCE (or Objective Structured Clinical Examination pronounced OSKEE)models a challenging palliative scenario over multiple stations likely also pulling staff in. Learning Institute researcher Lorelei Lingard discusses the 8C Partnered Learning Project that brought Ryerson and U of T students in for hospital placements. And last but certainly not least, Sherry Espin focuses on the all important topic of Patient Safety. Sometime during the day there will likely be showing of all or part of the new IPP training video. And a final surprise, hopefully after a dynamic dramatic OSCE, Sickkids first palliative care award for interprofessional excellence will be presented. This recognition of the challenge of consistent, transparent and affirming support of the dying is supported and was requested by several families including The Sasha Bella Fund.

Noteworthy is the balance of Sickkids staff perspectives with two outside perspectives whose research appears to dovetail. Scott Reeves appears to be an inspired IPP triple threat (Director of Research, Centre for Faculty Development at St Michael’s Hospital; Scientist, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St Michael's Hospital; and Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry) as his resume starts with IPP research in 1994 and never stops. Sherry Espin is similarly affiliated and her bio has her thesis and first publications focus on the "diversity of inter-professional team members’ perspectives on the topic of error, error disclosure and reporting as well as patients’ perceptions of these issues" and her current research focus "seeks to theorize how professionals on the health care team interact with one another in the context of perceived errors of care, in settings such as the intensive care unit, the operating room and the medical inpatient ward."

Missing so far is a Sickkids parent or patient speaker. Last year's IPP event offered this fund an opportunity to talk about Sasha's experience and I could see from the faces that many were engaged and touched while others were wide eyed at the laundry list (I did also celebrate successes); it's common to hear from staff the first time we meet 'I heard you at the IPP symposium'. I hope the tradition of hearing a patient or family story about interprofessional practise can continue.