IPE-ACTS (Interprofessional Education - Achieving Collaborative Team Solutions) is a required, 0-credit interprofessional training program designed for first-year students in the three WHSC health professional schools. IPE-ACTS provides health professional students with didactic, online instruction in the Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) competencies, an interactive team-based learning experience, and the opportunity to address a critical health challenge that Atlanta communities or the Emory Healthcare system face.

Student Participants

All first-year health professional students in the Emory University School of Medicine (SOM) and the Rollins School of Public Health (RSPH) and a select group of Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing (SON) students are required to participate. 

Program Overview

First-year students at the School of Medicine, School of Nursing, and School of Public Health will register for the PUBH 501 course during fall semester 2023 and will participate in the course during spring semester 2024. The PUBH 501 course will be comprised of online modules and an interactive team-based health challenge competition. This is a Satisfactory/UnSatisfactory, 0-credit course. Students who submit all deliverables will receive a Satisfactory grade on their transcripts, and students who fail to submit all deliverables will receive an Unsatisfactory grade on their transcripts.

Online Modules

The online modules will be available via an Emory Canvas site and will provide didactic instruction in the IPEC competencies. Students will be able to complete these modules as soon as they register for the PUBH 501 course through January 25, 2024 (see timeline below).

Health Challenge Selection and Team Formation

In the Emory Canvas site, students will choose one of 10 different Atlanta-based health challenges to focus their interprofessional team solution and sign up for an interprofessional (IPE) student team. Students will be able to select their health challenge and sign up for a team as soon as they register for the PUBH 501 course and must make their selection by January 22, 2024. IPE teams must include students from a minimum of two different health professional schools (e.g., RSPH and SON, SON and SOM, etc.). However, teams are encouraged to be as interprofessional as possible and can include students from all three health professional schools and multiple School of Medicine degree programs. Each student team will have approximately 10 members.

Emory faculty members will serve as Faculty Champions, and will provide each health challenge idea for the competition. Health challenges will address a wide range of disparate issues affecting Atlanta's numerous communities, with a special emphasis on conditions affecting the city's inequitably served and vulnerable populations. Some challenges will be geared more toward community health while other challenges will focus on clinical settings. Health challenges will be announced during fall semester 2023 and posted in the Emory Canvas course site.

Each IPE team will work together to develop a solution to its health challenge. While teams can develop solutions that are feasible given available resources, they can also create visionary solutions.

Kick-Off Event and IPE Team Meetings

On January 26, 2024, there will be a kick-off event where IPE student teams will meet with their respective health challenge's Faculty Champion. Each Faculty Champion will provide a comprehensive overview of the health challenge to the 15 IPE student teams that selected it. Teams will also receive additional information regarding the competition deliverables, timeline, and logistics. Each student team will then meet for two hours to begin drafting its team contract, brainstorming its health challenge solution, and arranging its next meeting.

After the kick-off event, the IPE student teams will meet independently a minimum of three times during the spring semester to further develop and finalize their health challenge solution and deliverables. All student teams will participate in the first round of the competition. The top team from each of the 10 health challenge topics will go on to participate in the final round of the competition (10 teams total for the final round).

Deliverables

Individual Student Deliverables

• Pre-team Interprofessional Assessment (individual student)
• Post-team Interprofessional Assessment (individual student)
• Peer Assessment

Each participating student must complete pre-and post-team interprofessional assessments regarding IPEC competencies and a peer assessment of their IPE team members. 

Student Team Deliverables

• Signed Team Contract
• First-round competition submission - five-minute video of health challenge solution
• Final-round competition submission  - five-minute in-person presentation and five-minute Q&A with judges

Team Advisors

Each IPE team will be assigned a Team Advisor who will assist it in developing its team contract and health solution. Team Advisors will be second-year or above masters or doctoral students at Emory's School of Medicine, School of Nursing, or School of Public Health. Team Advisors may also be residents or post-graduate fellows at one of the health professional schools.

Team Advisors will attend the January 26, 2024 Kick-Off event, work with assigned student teams, and provide limited assistance to teams during the six weeks between the Kick-Off event and March 15, when first-round deliverables are due. For more information about Team Advisor roles and responsibilities and reasons to participate in this exciting activity, visit here.

Judges

Information regarding first-round and final-round judges will be available on this page in January 2024.

2023-2024 Timeline