Health research, e-learning earns national award for ASU center

For the second time in less than a year, Arizona State University's Center for Advancing Interprofessional Practice, Education and Research, or CAIPER, team has been nationally recognized for its impact on team-based health care.

In early April, the center won the National Academies of Practice Creativity in Practice and Education Award, which the team accepted in person in Washington, D.C., at this year’s annual forum. The award honors the innovative work CAIPER has done in advancing health profession training and education through e-learning. 

NAP is an interprofessional organization representing multiple health professions and is “guided by and propagates four core values” including collaboration, patient centeredness, inclusivity and interconnectedness.

Incoming NAP President Andrea Pfeifle said interprofessional e-learning programs have become increasingly important over time as they bring diverse professions and team members together around topics like wellness, humility, empathy and health equity. The impact of those collaborations is improved quality of health and care and advancing well-being across communities.

“CAIPER has made enduring contributions to interprofessional practice and education through its e-learning trainings, and the National Academies of Practice is proud to affirm this by conferring CAIPER the Creativity in Practice and Education Award at its recent forum in Washington, D.C. I am so glad members of the CAIPER team were able to be there in person to accept the award,” Pfeifle said.

Just eight months ago, the center received the George E. Thibault, MD Nexus Award, the highest honor from the National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education.

Barret Michalec, CAIPER director and Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation associate professor, said it’s truly an honor to be consistently recognized as leaders in the field.

“These awards showcase our knowledge of not only the target audience of learners and the gaps in the market but also best practices in design and implementation. With the additions of the CAIPER Learning Solutions Consulting and the BhEAT Lab, we are continuing to expand our impact and reach. We truly reflect knowledge entrepreneurship — and we’re just getting started,” Michalec said. The BhEAT Lab highlights CAIPER’s research initiatives in the fields of education and health care delivery, and offers opportunities to partner with CAIPER through its affiliate program.

CAIPER is purposefully not a traditional research center, translating science into training and education for health and social care professionals, faculty, students and industry leaders. 

To date, more than 40,000 certificates have been issued to health professions learners worldwide for completing CAIPER e-learning programs. The popularity of these programs pushed CAIPER to develop its Learning Solutions Consulting, working directly with outside organizations to facilitate the integration of e-learning into existing curricula and programming. 

Written by Yvonne Price, associate director, Learning Solutions, and Jody Thompson, digital audience strategy specialist and project manager.