Colorado

Mountain West Interprofessional Education (IPE) Center

The MWAETC IPE program is designed to build HIV workforce capacity by increasing the numbers of new graduates from Health Professions Programs in Nursing, Medicine, Pharmacy, Public Health, and Behavioral Health with the skills to contribute to interdisciplinary care teams and the desire to enter the HIV care workforce. Ultimately, an expanded, prepared workforce will increase access to HIV care and improve outcomes along the HIV care continuum.

The MWAETC’s IPE Project is based at the University of Colorado College of Nursing (CU Nursing) and provides training and curriculum support to faculty of health professions schools and behavioral health graduate programs This is achieved through case-based teaching methods to develop team-based care practices of integrating HIV content into a variety of existing topic areas such as linkage to care, health disparities for vulnerable and underserved populations, chronic disease management in rural areas, and medication adherence.

These activities:

• help faculty teach students to provide high quality HIV testing, care, and prevention, and
• incorporate interprofessional team care competencies into their teaching through technical assistance and communities of practice.

The MWAETC also facilitates interprofessional practicum experiences with a hands-on, team-based learning approach, for students who wish to gain additional experience to become future HIV care providers.

The IPE program affects change for students, faculty, and health professional programs through the use of best practices for training, student enrichment, and faculty mentoring.

IPE Project trainers consult with faculty about teaching needs and gaps, and support curriculum development to address identified needs. They use best practices, including the NCCC and the National HIV Curriculum.

Examples of IPE curricula include

• HIV diagnosis, care, and treatment
• Interprofessional team-based care
• Quality improvement of HIV Care Continuum metrics
• Care for at-risk populations
• Motivational interviewing for treatment adherence
• Intersectionality of opioid use disorders and HIV
• Social determinants of health in HIV

Faculty are mentored on aspects of HIV care relevant to their primary care expertise, such as prevention, chronic care, substance use, rurality, or vulnerable groups.