Guests Treated to Lectures on Interprofessional Education

Dr. Oandasan started the visit with a lunch and learn entitled “The What, How and Why of Interprofessional Education: Catalyzing the Leadership of Nursing”, for College of Nursing staff, faculty and grad students. She continued her visit delivering her presentation “Collaborative Leadership: The Secret Ingredient for Advancing IPE at the U of S”, to Deans and Associate Deans of the Health Science colleges. The largest event, open to all health science students, staff and faculty, was her lecture on “Giving You an Edge for Tomorrow’s Health Workforce – Why Interprofessional Education Should Matter to You Now.” The final lecture, “It Takes a Community to Develop Saskatchewan’s Health Workforce – Highlighting the Role of the Clinical/Academic Interface”, was delivered the evening of February 25th, open to the public.

“Interprofessional education is one of the underlying principles of our Bachelor of Science in Nursing curriculum and our goal is that our graduates become competent, collaborative practitioners in the health care context,” said Associate Dean Central Saskatchewan Campus Dr. Hope Bilinksi. “We have been very fortunate to have someone like Dr. Oandasan, an internationally recognized leader in IPE, here to speak with us about strategies and structures that contribute to a successful IPE curriculum. Dr. Oandasan presented to faculty, staff, students, university leaders and health care practitioners providing messages that were relevant to each particular group. She is an engaging and energizing speaker and her passion to contribute to the advancement of interprofessional education and interprofessional collaboration is clearly evident.”

The College of Nursing would like to thank Dr. Oandasan for coming to Saskatchewan and delivering these very thought-provoking lectures on interprofessional education.

About Dr. Ivy Oandasan

Dr. Oandasan is a practicing family physician with the Toronto Western Family Health Team, an associate professor at the University of Toronto (U of T) and the Director of Education at the College of Family Physicians of Canada. She has been engaged in clinical practice and health professions education since 1997. Her ongoing hope is to help influence the development of competent and caring healthcare professionals who believe in the practice of interprofessional patient-centered care. Considered an expert in the field of interprofessional education, she grounds her knowledge and practice through her work as a clinician, educator, researcher and administrator.

In 2006, Dr. Oandasan was named the inaugural Director of the Office of IPE at the University of Toronto. In this position, she successfully fulfilled her mandate to develop the organizational structures and strategies to implement a mandatory IPE curriculum for the ten U of T health care discipline programs beginning in the fall of 2009. In her role as Director, she was able to catalyze relationships within and across hospitals and the university health science faculties to advance interprofessional education and interprofessional care. The Office of IPE became a Centre for IPE in 2010, jointly sponsored by the University of Toronto and The University Health Network /Toronto Rehabilitation Institute.