Core Competencies for
Interprofessional Collaborative
Practice and
Care Coordination
Madeline H. Schmitt PhD, RN, FAAN
Professor Emerita
University of Rochester School of Nursing
IPEC and the Core
Competencies Expert Panel
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Six national health professions education
associations (AACN, AACOM, AACP, AAMC,
ADEA, ASPH) formed a working group (IPEC)
in 2009 to develop a framework of joint
activities to support patient-centered teambased care, promote delivery reform, and
foster interprofessional learning experiences
Jointly implement an Expert Panel in early
2010
IPEC Charge to Expert Panel

Recommend common core competencies
relevant across the professions to address the
essential preparation of clinicians for
interprofessional collaborative practice

Recommend learning experiences and
educational strategies for achieving the
competencies and related objectives
Expert Panel Process
Full panel
face-toface
day long
meeting
Full panel
conference
calls
Four work
groups define
& write
specific
competencies
Iterative
integration
&
refinement
Interprofessional Education and
Interprofessional Collaboration
IPE When students from two or more professions
learn about, from and with each other to
enable effective collaboration and improve
health outcomes (WHO, 2010)
IPC When multiple health workers from different
professional backgrounds work together with
patients, families, careers, and communities to
deliver the highest quality of care (WHO, 2010)
Professional & Interprofessional
Competency
Professional
Competency
Behavioral demonstrations of an
integrated set of knowledge, skills, and
attitudes that define the domains of
work of a specific health profession
applied in specific care contexts
Interprofessional Behavioral demonstrations of an
integrated set of knowledge, skills and
Competency
attitudes for working together across the
professions, with other health care
workers, and with patients/families/
communities/populations to improve
health outcomes in specific care contexts
IOM 5 Core Competencies,
adapted to IPEC Expert
Panel Work
Provide
Utilize
Informatics
PatientCentered
Care
Work in
Interprofessional
Teams
“Core
Competencies”
Employ
EvidenceBased
Practice
Apply
Quality
Improvement
IP Competencies: General Criteria
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Patient, Population & Relationship-centered
Process-oriented
“Common” language
Applicable
across practice settings
across professions
Relevant to the learning continuum
Outcome driven [performance]
Relevant to IOM goals for improvement:
patient-centered, efficiency, effectiveness,
safety, timeliness, and equity
Core Competencies:
Four Domains
Roles/
Responsibilities
Values/
Ethics
Work in IP
Teams 
Core
Competencies
Communication
Teamwork
Processes
VALUES/ETHICS
Overall Competency
Work with individuals of other professions
to maintain a climate of mutual respect
and shared values
VALUES/ETHICS
Example competencies

Place the interests of patients and populations at
the center of IP health care delivery

Respect the unique cultures, values,
roles/responsibilities and expertise of other
health professions
ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES
Overall Competency
Use the knowledge of one’s own role
and those of other professions
to appropriately assess and address
the health care needs of the patients
and populations served
ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES
Example Competencies

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Recognize one’s limitations in skills, knowledge
and abilities
Engage diverse health care professionals who
complement one’s own professional expertise,
as well as associated resources, to develop
strategies to meet specific patient care needs
INTERPROFESSIONAL
COMMUNICATION
Overall Competency
Communicate with patients, families, communities
and other health professionals
in a responsive and responsible manner
that supports a team approach
to the maintenance of health
and treatment of disease
INTERPROFESSIONAL
COMMUNICATION
Example Competencies

Organize and communicate information with
patients, families and health care team members
in a form that is understandable, avoiding
discipline-specific terminology when possible

Give timely, sensitive, instructive feedback to
others about their performance on the team, and
respond respectfully as a team member to
feedback from others
INTERPROFESSIONAL TEAMWORK &
TEAM-BASED CARE
Overall Competency
Apply relationship-building values
and the principles of team dynamics
to perform effectively in different team roles
to plan and deliver patient/population-centered care
that is safe, timely,
efficient, effective, and equitable
INTERPROFESSIONAL TEAMWORK
& TEAM-BASED CARE
Example Competencies

Integrate the knowledge and experience of other
professions-appropriate to the specific care
situation-to inform care decisions, while
respecting patient and community values and
priorities/preferences for care

Use process improvement strategies to increase
effectiveness of interprofessional teamwork and
team-based care
Emphasis of Core Competency
Framework
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Focus is on individual competencies for working
together
Not focused on common or unique clinical or
broader [e.g., systems, QI] knowledge bases
Builds on professional competencies
Principles extend to non-professional team
members
Report available for downloading at
https://www.aamc.org/download/186750/data/core
_competencies.pdf
HRSA Invitational Conference
February 16-17, 2011
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Co-sponsored by Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation,
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and
American Board of Internal Medicine
Foundation, along with HRSA and IPEC
Two goals-vetting core competencies
Developing action plans for next steps
Report available for downloading at
https://www.aamc.org/download/186752/data/tea
m-based_competencies.pdf
Core Competencies and Care
Coordination

Competences underpin three core
processes of teamwork and team-based
care:
 Cooperation
 Coordination [within as well as across
settings]
 Collaboration
Linking core competencies and care
coordination

“Care coordination” is a person-centered,
assessment-based, interdisciplinary
approach to integrating health care and
social support services in a cost-effective
manner in which an individual’s needs
and preferences are assessed, a
comprehensive care plan is developed,
and services are managed and monitored
by an evidence-based process which
typically involves a designated lead care
coordinator.”
Bold=core competency Blue=specific to care coordination fx
or role
Definition contains:
Values->Patient/person/family
centered;
 Roles->all team members, care
coordinator [vs coordination function]
 Communication->between team and
care coordinator
 Teamwork->interdisciplinary,
comprehensive assessment and
planning process

Effective care coordination
requires action at all levels#
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National organizations [standards],
Federal gov’t [monitoring system-level performance],
State [tracking system performance],
Regional/community [tracking system performance],
Practice [allocate/manage care coordination function, integrate
care, monitor performance],
Family [expectations, preferences, coordination role and skill
development, feedback]
#
Antonelli, McAllister, & Popp (2009). Making care coordination a critical component of the
pediatric health system: A multidisciplinary framework. The Commonwealth Fund. Publication
No. 1277. Retrieved May 17, 2011 from
http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Content/Publications/Fund-Reports/2009/May/Making-CareCoordination-a-Critical-Component-of-the-Pediatric-Health-System.aspx
Collaborating Across Borders III
Tucson, AZ
November 19-21, 2011
See
www.cabarizona2011.org