Canadian “Innovation Collaborative” Focusing on Collaborative Leadership
The Canadian Interprofessional Health Leadership Collaborative (CIHLC) —one of four “innovation collaboratives” selected by the U.S. Institute of Medicine’s Global Forum—is focusing on collaborative leadership for health system change. They will be bringing together partners and networks across Canada, as well as global engagement, to create, develop, implement and evaluate a global collaborative leadership model to effect health system change.
This initiative is spearheaded by the University of Toronto, and includes four additional partners: the University of British Columbia, Northern Ontario School of Medicine, Queen’s University, and University Laval, each of which also heads related regional initiatives. These partners have also worked collaboratively in similar types of initiatives and programs across Canada, as well as globally. David Naylor, President of the University of Toronto, was a member of the Lancet Commission that produced the report on globally transforming the education of health professionals.
CIHLC plans were presented at the Global Forum inaugural meeting in Washington, DC, in March by co-leaders of the collaborative from University of Toronto: Sarita Verma (Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Associate Vice Provost of Health Professions Education) and Maria Tassone (Director of the Centre for Interprofessional Education and Senior Director for Health Professions & Interprofessional Care for the University Health Network).
“Emerging societal trends, such as health disparities, the complexity of chronic illnesses, and the movement towards community-centered care are challenging health professionals to find new ways of delivering care and providing collaborative leadership,” commented Dr. Verma.
The CIHLC has identified key drivers of change in health care and plans to develop a learner-focused and competency-based educational model. They are building on successes already achieved in health professions education, including a national initiative called Health Canada Interprofessional Education for Collaborative Patient-Centred Practice, a national interprofessional competency framework developed in 2010, and other robust interprofessional education programs across the country that have been linked to practice (i.e., collaborative change leadership, cultural competencies, IT distance learning, curriculum innovation, and faculty/professional development).
First-year activities include establishing a network to engage stakeholders and partners, doing a comprehensive literature review and environmental scan (international surveys, regional consultations), conducting a needs assessment, and developing an evaluation framework. Then will create a collaborative leadership module and test it in various practice settings— among students, educators, practitioners and patients.
See also: IOM Innovative Collaborative member spotlight on their website
Inofrmation about the Global Forum on Innovation in Health Professional Education