How U-M Center for IPE’s Raj Mangrulkar envisions a collaborative path forward….
In the same September 2021 week that he was appointed director of University of Michigan Center for Interprofessional Education, Raj Mangrulkar was also named a new Faculty Innovator in Residence at U-M’s Center for Academic Innovation (CAI). He recently took time to describe to the synchronicity he sees in these roles—along with ongoing leadership atRISE, an initiative at Michigan Medicine that engages in innovative translational educational experiments for physician and scientist training. He explained his vision for how it can all come together to improve health and make a difference for both residential and global learners. [Excerpted from the October 2021 CAI Q&A.]
“Health to me as a public good, and a societal good, feels natural for us to take on as an innovation initiative, in all three units. I know I am wearing three different hats, but I really hope that while it is three roles, those roles will be serving one mission: innovating education to improve health. I think CAI, the Center for IPE, and RISE can fit together cohesively. RISE focuses on health science education innovation, serving education for MDs and PhDs and the master’s degree students in the Medical School in Michigan Medicine. We think about health care delivery as a place for innovation.
“The Center for Interprofessional Education fits in the interprofessional innovation zone. How do we bring learners from 10 different schools on 3 U-M campuses that are involved in health care education together in unique and experimental, experiential environments that can actually make a difference in practice and outcomes? We can transform how teams come together to take better care of patients, ensure that learners understand how to be part of these teams, and work collaboratively with the public health workforce to improve the health of populations. That is the true promise of innovating IPE.
“I think CAI then provides us the broader interdisciplinary lens that focuses on health, not just health care. Here we can collaborate with the College of Engineering, the School of Education, Ross, Ford, SEaS, and so many other schools and colleges that can see themselves as being really critical to improving health. Through this work, we can start to build a portfolio or what I hope will be a community of practice of faculty and staff and learners who care about this mission.”