Interprofessional education and training - Transforming professional preparation to transform human services

Many universities are experimenting with interprofessional programs to better prepare professionals to tackle the complex problems faced by children and families. Universities face three major challenges: overcoming the compartmentalization of professional schools, which is then reflected in fragmentation of service delivery; learning to function as effective partners with communities; and reconceptualizing the nature of professional expertise to include collaborative scholarship and practice. The authors found that collaborative work can offer scholars substantial intellectual challenges, learning opportunities and a new kind of access to the community, which can receive increased professional assistance. Interprofessional education is likely to promote alternative conceptions of teaching, scholarship, program design, and community service. However; it is personally and intellectually demanding, costly in time and other resources, and institutionally fragile. The open question is how many university faculty and administrators will take on the challenges of responding to new needs and demands for training human service professionals.