StanfordOnline: Interprofessional Education for 21st Century Care

Physician trainees are put into clinical multidisciplinary teams with little knowledge of their non-MD colleagues. They are often unaware of the specialized expertise these other team members possess and they have no framework for understanding the complex interdisciplinary team environment. This lack of understanding results in confusion and missteps that can lead to patient care errors, potentially hostile working conditions, and decreased job satisfaction. With this curriculum we hope to give you a basic understanding of the roles and backgrounds of some core members of the interdisciplinary team as well as insight into these professionals views of the types of common misunderstandings and miscommunication that can derail interprofessional collaboration.