About Us

Mission

To improve the experience and clinical outcomes for patients/clients and the overall health of communities by preparing future and current health care providers and others to collaborate effectively to deliver high qualilty, patient/community-centered team-based services.

Vision

Health care professionals working in the state of Montana, and graduates from MUS health professions programs, are knowledgeable, prepared for, and actively engage in collaborative practice with other disciplines and patients as a routine part of providing health care.

What is IPE?

Interprofessional education is "when students from two or more professions learn about, from and with each other to enable effective collaboration and improve health outcomes."

Interprofessional collaborative practice is “when multiple health workers from different professional backgrounds provide comprehensive services by working with patients, their families, caregivers and communities to deliver the highest quality of care across settings”

- World Health Organization, 2010 Framework for Action on Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice

IPE at MSU

IPE at MSU grew out of the common interests of numerous healthcare program faculty from Montana State University and University of Montana in breaking down academic silos so our students will become collaborative practice ready upon graduation. 

Traditionally, students train in professional silos then graduate to practice in a complex and fragmented healthcare system. While skilled in their unique disciplines, this traditional model fails to prepare students to collaborate effectively with other healthcare disciplines. The Montana University System IPE will lead efforts to prepare students, faculty, and current healthcare workers for interprofessional collaborative practice by creating: 

• An IPE resource and training center for MUS health profession students, faculty, and healthcare sites,

• A conduit between statewide healthcare sites and MUS healthcare programs

• An IPE funding clearing house

• A grant-writing and publication liaison/interchange

See a list of participating academic programs and disciplines below.