Leveraging Implementation Science to Innovate Interprofessional Education and Interprofessional Collaboration at an Academic Medical Center

Students empowered by interprofessional education (IPE) find themselves disempowered when entering workplaces where high-functioning teams that excel in interprofessional collaboration (IPC) are rare. Previous investigations at Michigan Medicine revealed no system nor strategy to improve teamwork despite teamwork acting as a key driver of employee engagement and patient experience. Michigan Medicine has partnered with the University of Michigan Center for Interprofessional Education (C-IPE) to implement team-training called “Thriving Together”, which aims to strengthen teamwork, improve key patient and workforce metrics, and enhance IPE opportunities for students across the system.Implementation: A structured implementation science approach has guided the approach for implementing the "Thriving Together" program at Michigan Medicine. The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) was utilized to identify potential barriers and facilitators, while the ERIC framework guided strategies to address them. This systematic method has proven effective, particularly for identifying the need for system buy-in, leading to a multi-pronged approach for ultimately gaining executive support for implementing "Thriving Together".Evaluation plan: Utilizing the RE-AIM evaluation dimensions, we will evaluate the implementation outcomes of the “Thriving Together” program spanning “adoption”, “implementation”, and “maintenance”. Evaluation and measurement across these dimensions will generate broad understanding of system uptake and support of the program. This information will be utilized by the C-IPE to advocate for expansion of the program.Outcome(s) and significance: Although it is critical to evaluate outcomes of the implementation itself, Thriving Together when successfully implemented will have positive downstream effects on system metrics related to teamwork, patient outcomes, workforce engagement, and IPE opportunities. Utilizing an implementation science approach to this work will continue to be critical as we implement and expand the program.