Performance-based competencies for culturally responsive interprofessional collaborative practice

Abstract

This paper will highlight how a literature review and stakeholder-expert feedback guided the creation of an interprofessional facilitator-collaborator competency tool, which was then used to design an interprofessional facilitator development program for the Partners for Interprofessional Cancer Education (PICE) Project. Cancer Care Nova Scotia (CCNS), one of the PICE Project partners, uses an Interprofessional Core Curriculum (ICC) to provide continuing education workshops to community-based practitioners, who as a portion of their practice, care for patients experiencing cancer. In order to deliver this curriculum, health professionals from a variety of disciplines required education that would enable them to become culturally sensitive interprofessional educators in promoting collaborative patient-centred practice. The Registered Nurses Professional Development Centre (RN-PDC), another PICE Project partner, has expertise in performance-based certification program design and utilizes a competency-based methodology in its education framework. This framework and methodology was used to develop the necessary interprofessional facilitator competencies that incorporate the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required for performance. Three main competency areas evolved, each with its own set of competencies, performance criteria and behavioural indicators.

Keywords:

• Collaboration
• competencies
• culture
• facilitation
• interprofessional education

Acknowledgments

The Partners for Interprofessional Cancer Education (PICE) project acknowledges the collaborative effort of its 11 partners in all activities. These partners are: Cancer Care Nova Scotia, Registered Nurses Professional Development Centre, Dalhousie University Continuing Medical Education, Dalhousie University College of Pharmacy- Division of Continuing Pharmacy Education, St. Francis Xavier School of Nursing, District Health Authorities in Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island Department of Health, Union of Nova Scotia Indians, Confederacy of Mainland Mi'kmaq, IWK Health Centre, and Nova Scotia Seniors Citizens Secretariat.

Funding: A Health Human Resources Strategy, Health Canada grant: Interprofessional Education for Collaborative Patient Centred Care.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.