McMaster PIPER leads with national award

As a Canadian leader in advancing interprofessional education, McMaster’s Program for Interprofessional Practice, Education and Research (PIPER) is being awarded the 2012 Alan Blizzard Award.

The top national award will be presented by the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education at an annual conference in Montreal on June 21.

The award, named in honour of the society’s former president, is designed to stimulate and reward collaboration in teaching and to encourage and disseminate the scholarship of teaching.

The PIPER team will give a presentation of their work at the conference.

“It is wonderful to be recognized by an external organization, such as the society, which has the support of national educators,” said Bonny Jung, assistant professor, School of Rehabilitation Science, and director of the PIPER program.

Jung applauded Patty Solomon, associate dean and director of the School of Rehabilitation Science who is former director of the PIPER program, and Dr. Alan Neville, associate dean, education, for their support.

Interprofessional education brings students from different disciplines together, to learn with, from and about each other. Collaboration and teamwork is a hallmark of McMaster.

The Faculty of Health Sciences was the first in Canada to include programs in medicine, nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, midwifery and physician assistant in one integrated Faculty.

To reaffirm its commitment to collaboration, a working group developed recommendations for a new inter-professional curriculum in December, 2004. The inter-professional education (IPE) office was developed in 2007.

In addition to Jung, team members are:

Andrew Burke, medical resident, Internal Medicine Residency Program; Carl Delottinville, associate professor, Bachelor of Health Sciences Program; Anne Malott, assistant professor, Midwifery Education Program; Denise Marshall, professor and assistant dean, Program for Faculty Development; Beth Murray-Davis, assistant professor, Midwifery Education Program; Alan Neville, professor and associate dean, Education, Faculty of Health Sciences; Jenn Salfi, assistant professor, School of Nursing; Gillian Schaible, program coordinator, Education Services; Dyanne Semogas, assistant professor, School of Nursing; Josh Smalley, medical student, Class of 2014; Patty Solomon, professor and associate dean, School of Rehabilitation Science.