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Portland, Maine

Paper co-authored by CAIEP director receives international excellence award

Photo of Shelley Cohen Konrad in white against a background of red leaves.
Shelley Cohen Konrad, Ph.D., LCSW, FNAP, director of the Center to Advance Interprofessional Education and Practice.
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A paper co-authored by Shelley Cohen Konrad, Ph.D., LCSW, FNAP, director of the Center to Advance Interprofessional Education and Practice (CAIEP), has been recognized internationally for its contributions to the field of interprofessional practice.

The paper, “Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice (IPECP) in Post-COVID Healthcare Education and Practice Transformation Era,” was presented with the Excellence in Global Interprofessional Collaboration Award at the All Together Better Health conference, held in Doha, Qatar, from Nov. 6 to 9.

The paper was published by the Global Network for Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice Research in partnership with the American Interprofessional Health Collaborative and the Canadian Interprofessional Health Collaborative. It discusses the increasing importance of interprofessional education in the health professions amid today’s ongoing health crises.

Cohen Konrad collaborated with several colleagues on a section of the document focused on adopting resilient systems, emphasizing the importance of institutional culture change and system-based collaborative approaches to avoid burnout and improve workforce retention and quality practice.

The publication serves as a call to action for educators, practitioners, community leaders, scholars, and policymakers to implement critical strategies such as adaptability, forward thinking, sustainability, inclusivity, and institution-wide support to promote resilience to achieve what the authors call the “Quintuple Aim” — better health, better care, better value, better work experience, and better health equity.

“Receiving the Interprofessional Global Award for outstanding interprofessional teamwork and collaboration recognizes our unwavering commitment to interprofessional global research and scholarship that both advances the field and inspires others to do so as well,” Cohen Konrad said. “It was an honor to work with this amazing team of scholars.”

About the University of New England

The University of New England is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of flexible, accredited online degrees. In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.