Interprofessional Education & Practice Collaborative

What Is Interprofessional Education & Practice (IPEP)?

Interprofessional education means that future healthcare professionals learn with and from each other in a variety of collaborative formats while preparing future health professionals for the integrative environment of healthcare. Students in medicine, nursing, pharmacy, public health and other fields are able to interact through discussion, case studies, simulation exercises and peer teaching. IPE presents an assortment of various collaborative team-based exercises so students from different health sciences come together to figure out problems – just as it’s done in practice throughout the highly collaborative UCI Health system. With the “no-silos” approach, health practitioner communication and patient outcomes improve. At UCI and nationwide, interprofessional education and practice (IPEP) is being recognized as both a critical strategy to preparing students and the best scenario for patient care.

The Interprofessional Education & Practice Collaborative

In the 2021-2022 academic year, the VCHA Work Group on Interprofessional Education was formed to conduct an environmental scan and present short- and long-term recommendations that would advance interprofessional education and team-based care at UCI. In fall 2022 as a follow-up to the work group, the Interprofessional Education & Practice (IPEP) Collaborative was created to enact the recommendations by planning and implementing IPEP programs across Health Affairs.

The UCI IPEP Collaborative seeks to transform health professions education and health care delivery by fostering community-centered partnerships, collaborative learning, interprofessional research and continued interprofessional practice advancements.

Our mission focuses on 4 separate, yet interrelated foundational elements:
  • IPEP Curriculum Development and Integration for early learners; Developing sustainable infrastructures to support IPE activities across Health Affairs
  • Community Engagement Projects and Outreach
  • IPEP Research and Framework development
  • IPEP Faculty and Practicing Provider Development and Continuing Education
We will achieve our mission by:
  • Incorporating resources which lead to innovative, measurable and sustained learning.
  • Using outcomes to guide future goals and objectives.
  • Prioritizing teaching initiatives and resources to target specific leading health concerns, conditions and bridging the gap of healthcare disparities and inequities within the community.
  • Working closely with, considering advice from, and making curriculum recommendations to the COHS Faculty Assembly IPE Standing Committee

IPEP Collaborative Members

Stephanie Au, MSN, APRN, FNPC, DNP

Faculty Director, IPEP Collaborative;
Assistant Clinical Professor, Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing

Nana Entsuah
Nana Entsuah, PharmD

Assistant Clinical Professor, School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences

Alya Khan
Alya Kan

Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, Environmental & Occupational Health, Program in Public Health

Jocelyn Ludlow
Jocelyn Ludlow, PhD, RN, CHSE, CMSRN, CNE

Director of Simulation, Associate Clinical Professor, Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing

Sarah-McBane
Sarah McBane, PharmD

Clinical Professor; Founding Associate Dean of Pharmacy Education, School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences

Robert McCarron
Robert McCarron, DO

Professor and Vice Chair of Education and Integrated Care, Psychiatry & Human Behavior, School of Medicine; Director of Education, Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute

Nimisha Parekh
Nimisha Parekh, MD

Clinical Professor; Associate Dean of Faculty Development, School of Medicine; Director of Culinary Medicine, Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute

Stephanie Reyes-Tuccio
Stephanie Reyes-Tuccio, PhD

Assistant Vice Chancellor, Educational Partnerships, UCI School of Education

David Timberlake
David Timberlake, PhD

Professor, Epidemiology, Program in Public Health

Candice Whealon
Candice Whealon, DNP, MSN, APRN, FNP-C

Assistant Clinical Professor; Clinical Coordinator, DNP-FNP Practice Program, Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing

Warren Wiechmann
Warren Wiechmann, MD, MBA

Associate Professor, Clinical Emergency Medicine; Associate Dean of Clinical Science Education and Educational Technology, School of Medicine

Cheryl Wisseh
Cheryl Wisseh, PharmD, MPH, BCACP

Assistant Clinical Professor, Clinical Pharmacy Practice, School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences

Alisa Wray
Alisa Wray, MD, MAEd

Associate Clinical Professor, Emergency Medicine; Director of Clinical Skills Assessment, Clinical Foundations Course Director, School of Medicine; Associate Residency Program Director, Emergency Medicine

Past Members

Scott Bartell, PhD
Associate Dean of Academic Affairs;
Professor, Environmental and Occupational Health, Program in Public Health
Served 2022-23

Robert Edwards, MD, PhD
Associate Professor, Pathology, School of Medicine
Served 2022-23

IPEP News and Publications