The Accreditation of Interprofessional Health Education (AIPHE) initiative is well into the second phase of its work as members collaborate to ensure the integration of IPE standards into the accreditation programs of six health professionals: nursing, medicine, physical therapy, occupational therapy, pharmacy, and social work.

CASN is collaborating with The Committee on Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools, the College of Family Physicians of Canada and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, Physiotherapy Education Accreditation Canada, the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists, the Canadian Council for Accreditation of Pharmacy Programs and the Canadian Association of Social Work Education on a number of activities.

A Standards Development Working Group was established to develop a Standards’ Language and Assessment Guidelines document based on the implementation principles developed in AIPHE’s first phase of work. The Guidelines provide suggested language for IPE accreditation standards that can be adapted by health professions and examples of evidence for assessment to support accreditation surveyors.

Before the Guidelines are finalized, AIPHE is consulting with key stakeholders, including clinical site managers, regulatory authorities, educators and government representatives through a national Gathering being held on Monday, November 8th via Webinar technology. In February 2011, AIPHE will also host a Knowledge Exchange Session with representatives of other health profession accrediting organizations. Throughout this phase and beyond, the AIPHE partners, including CASN, will be working on further implementation of IPE within each of our accreditation standards. We will continue to keep you updated on our progress.