Academic Preparedness of Social Workers for Interprofessional Education/Collaborative Practice (IPECP)

Are social workers emerging as competent collaborative practitioners? The cost of education is rising, employer training budgets are shrinking, and the World Health Organization (WHO) is forecasting a shortage of personnel trained effectively in interprofessional practice. The Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) developed four core competencies for interprofessional practice. Interprofessional awareness was added to the latest Council on Social Work Education’s (CSWE) educational policy and accreditation standards (EPAS) for 2015. Using a socio-cultural learning framework, social workers will be questioned as to their perceived educational preparedness to enter into interprofessional education/collaborative practice. NASW-PA membership comprised the 304 completed surveys. Respondent findings indicate 73% do not perceive they are educationally prepared to practice in interprofessional settings and 84% inaccurately defined interprofessional education. Furthermore, 75% of respondents believe they are engaged in an interprofessional practice setting. Future research is needed to determine if social workers are engaged in interprofessional practice and if interprofessional education, the precursor to interprofessional practice would benefit the next generation of social workers.