Joseph Zorek, PharmD, BCGP
Director, Linking Interprofessional Networks for Collaboration & Associate Professor
University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
Joseph Zorek (Joe) joined The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio in 2019 as Director of their Quality Enhancement Plan, Linking Interprofessional Networks for Collaboration, and Associate Professor with Tenure in the School of Nursing. Representing the National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education, Joe co-authored the 2019 Health Professions Accreditors Collaborative consensus document "Guidance on Developing Quality Interprofessional Education for the Health Professions." His work in IPE instrument development has been recognized with national and international awards. Joe’s latest project, "Interprofessional Practice in Pharmacy: Featuring Illustrated Case Studies," will be published by McGraw-Hill Education in 2020.

Presenting at the Nexus Summit:

The Health Professions Accreditors Collaborative (HPAC) and National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education released a consensus guidance on developing high quality interprofessional education (IPE) in 2019. Stressing the importance of IPE, institutional leaders with responsibility for accreditation and IPE were advised to create systematic IPE approaches to facilitate institution-wide collaboration. Leaders responsible for planning and implementing IPE were encouraged to develop program-specific IPE plans. Individual professions occupy a unique and valuable position within the…
BACKGROUND: The next generation of health care workers will require interprofessional education (IPE) to prepare for interprofessional collaborative practice (IPCP). To date, IPE growth and development in the United States has been primarily preclinical. Leading organizations recognize, however, that IPE must move meaningfully into clinical learning environments to improve health outcomes. The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio) is dedicated to advancing IPE, including clinical IPE, as evidenced in the institution’s Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP),…
The Health Professions Accreditors Collaborative (HPAC), composed of 25 accrediting agencies, provides a forum for members to cooperate in areas of mutual interest. One key HPAC goal is to ensure that accreditors’ standards, policies, procedures, and expectations support and prepare graduates for contemporary practice as part of interprofessional teams.  The consensus document Guidance on Developing Quality Interprofessional Education for the Health Professions (the Guidance) was developed with consultative assistance from the National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education to…
The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio emphasizes interprofessional education (IPE) among our strategic educational priorities. This is exemplified by our Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) for institutional accreditation, Linking Interprofessional Networks for Collaboration (LINC) - created to cultivate IPE knowledge and skills of faculty, students, and staff and to integrate IPE activities into programs’ curricula with increasing opportunities for student IPE experiences.   Members of the LINC Faculty Council (the Council), one from each school (dentistry, graduate…
The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio is committed to advancing interprofessional education (IPE). This effort is best demonstrated through our Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP), Linking Interprofessional Networks for Collaboration (LINC). The QEP involves all schools (dentistry, graduate biomedical sciences, health professions, medicine, and nursing) and is required for institutional accreditation. The primary goals of the QEP include increasing campus-wide IPE knowledge and skills, integration of IPE activities into programs’ curricula, and increasing opportunities for…
BACKGROUND: COVID-19-associated social distancing practices necessitated significantly altering a previously planned large-scale interprofessional education (IPE) activity for approximately 1000 students at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. As a result, we developed and piloted an innovative, self-directed online learning experience emphasizing student engagement.   DESIGN: We partnered with the family of a child in the local community with complex health needs to develop two unique case studies telling their story while emphasizing the value of teamwork on…
The Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP), Linking Interprofessional Networks for Collaboration (LINC), is a requirement for institutional accreditation designed to advance interprofessional education (IPE) at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio). All five schools (dentistry, graduate biomedical sciences, health professions, medicine, and nursing) are actively engaged in achieving QEP goals: to integrate IPE activities into programs’ curricula and to cultivate IPE knowledge and skills in faculty, staff, and students. UT Health San Antonio has…