The history of the Interprofessional Continuing Education (IPCE) program at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (Cincinnati Children’s) mirrors the history of the hospital itself. Cincinnati Children’s began providing specialized care for children in the Cincinnati area almost 150 years ago. In that time, the organization has grown from a small, local children's hospital to a large, multisite, medical center/health system that cares for children from across the globe. In the same way, the IPCE program has grown from a small, clinician-specific program to a robust, integrated program serving learners from around the world.

The program began offering CME credit through the Ohio State Medical Association in 1995, moving to the ACCME in 2008. Nursing credit was offered through the Ohio State Nurses Association starting in 2003. Although operationally managed through separate offices, Cincinnati Children’s educators increasingly worked collaboratively to use effective, team-based education to help achieve hospital goals, particularly those focused on institutional safety and patient/population health. This culminated in the formation of a task force with representatives from physician, nursing, and pharmacy continuing education in 2016 to explore the possibility of formalizing this collaboration through Joint Accreditation. Institutional leadership recognized the benefits of Joint Accreditation, and we applied in 2017.

Joint Accreditation was granted in December 2018, and a formal structure was developed. The IPCE Operational Team (IPCE Team) would consist of:

  • Director (CME and IPCE)

  • CME education consultants and specialist (one consultant designated as a lead)

  • Nursing education consultants (one consultant designated as a lead)

  • Nurse practitioner education lead

  • Pharmacy education lead

  • CME/IPCE coordinators

  • Education technology specialist/instructional designer

  • Meeting planner

 Other members added over the reaccreditation period:

  • Psychology education lead

  • MOC program manager

  • Dietician education lead

Credit was added for physician associates in 2020 and psychology in 2022. Although it was decided not to offer dietician credit through Joint Accreditation, it was recognized that the profession is a significant part of many of our educational activities. Thus, a dietician educator was added to our IPCE team in 2023.

Below shows the significant impact this team has had on the hospital.