Implementation of an HIV clinic-based interprofessional education curriculum for nursing, medical and pharmacy students

The interprofessional team approach to the management of persons with HIV infection is widely seen as the ideal management strategy. The HIV Medical Association's primary care guidelines recommend that HIV care sites utilize an interprofessional model¹ because studies have shown that such a model often helps retain patients in care, identify unmet care needs, and improve adherence to medications.² In recognition of the importance of the interprofessional model in the field of HIV, AIDS education and training centers (AETCs) across the country are working to develop and implement HIV-focused interprofessional education (IPE) curricula. The curriculum described herein was developed as part of a regional HIV Interprofessional Education collaborative with the Midwest AIDS Training and Education Center. In this HIV clinic-based IPE curriculum, students were given the opportunity to apply their IPE skills in a real-world setting. They were placed in teams with providers from other disciplines and participated in cross-training and shared note-writing. Students presented care plans in interprofessional team rounds and received immediate feedback on these plans. Finally, they were instructed on how to recognize and evaluate IPE utilizing a novel five-question assessment tool.