Some historical notes on interdisciplinary and interprofessional education and practice in health care in the USA

Abstract

The origins and development of interdisciplinary health care teams in the US is traced from World War II successes with multidisciplinary medical and surgical teams to President Johnson's vision of The Great Society, in which the poor and underserved would have access to benefits of good health through the creation of community health centers located in areas of need. The concept of interdisciplinary teams of health professionals was espoused as a means for providing comprehensive and continuous care to such populations. This movement had significant implications for the education and training of future health professionals and both the federal government and philanthropic foundations have endeavored to effect changes in traditional disciplinary models. Despite repeated efforts, there remain many barriers to interdisciplinary and interprofessional education and practice in the US.

Keywords:

• Interdisciplinary education
• interprofessional practice
• health care teams

Notes

Originally published in: Journal of Interprofessional Care, 1996; 10(2): 173 – 187

Portions of this paper have appeared in Interdisciplinary Development of Health Professionals to Maximize Health Provider Resources in Rural Areas, printed in March 1993 by the National Rural Health Association under HRSA contract, 240-89-0037.

An ongoing discussion in the field concerns the terms and definitions that have been and continue to be applied to various forms of collaboration and teamwork. Until the mid-1970s, the terms ‘multidisciplinary’ or ‘interdisciplinary’ were almost universally used. Starting with Rosalie Kane's monograph in 1975, the term ‘interprofessional’ has been used with increasing frequency, especially as applied to clinical practice. While both terms continue to be used, at times almost interchangeably, more recent emphasis has been placed on the functional terms: ‘teamwork’ and ‘collaboration’.