Interprofessional Education in Undergraduate Social Work Education

Abstract

This teaching note discusses the role interprofessional education (IPE) can play in social work education. The Final 2015 Educational Policy (Council on Social Work Education, 2015) includes the term interprofessional collaboration as a descriptor of Competency 7 (Assess individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities) and as a component behavior in Competency 8 (Intervene with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities). We contend that the interprofessional learning initiatives currently under way in many other professions offer opportunities for social work programs as their administrators begin to think about operationalizing these two social work competencies. We present several examples of learning initiatives from our program that can be used to develop student's competence in interprofessional collaboration. In addition, social work's strength as a profession, rooted in collective practice, can be used to move social work into a leadership position in IPE.