Building a Curricular Framework for Teaching and Assessing Interprofessional Collaboration: An Evidence-based Approach

Curricular frameworks provide systematic support for aligning interprofessional learning objectives, educational content, and assessment strategies. As the demand for interprofessional education has grown, the Office of Interprofessional Learning at Cleveland Clinic recognized a need to develop such a framework. Specifically, our team sought to create an evidence-based framework that connected foundations of effective teamwork and positive workplace relationships with associated behaviors and organizational values to ensure consistent alignment and assessment across existing and future programs.Implementation: Development involved four iterative components: (1) systematic review of our existing evidence-based programs, selection of relevant TeamSTEPPS strategies, and alignment to organizational values; (2) AI-assisted analysis to identify patterns in and relationships between educational content and the literature; (3) comprehensive literature reviews to identify and validate framework elements, (4) and focused team discussions to both refine and expand the framework. The resulting framework identified seven key foundations (Psychological Safety, Mutual Trust, Mutual Respect, Shared Mental Models, Collaboration, Inclusivity, Learning Culture) and critical behaviors that support them.Evaluation plan: The framework supports our office in evaluating and refining existing programs, while aiding in the development of a behavior-based instrument to measure perceptions of collective team performance. It also enables us to assess how our coaching and educational programs influence teamwork behaviors among participants.Outcome(s) and significance: This framework is significant in its capacity to guide alignment and consistent development of interprofessional learning programs. It also offers complementary means of assessing team member perceptions, and adoption, of behaviors that support interprofessional collaboration. Early implementation has revealed opportunities for refining and enhancing existing programs and to expand our curriculum to better meet the needs of interprofessional healthcare teams. The framework also now serves as the foundation for a new educational program.