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Better Together: IPE Day Highlights the Power of Team-Based Care

June 8, 2026   |   Lorri Angelloz

For Jay A. Perman, MD, chancellor of the University System of Maryland and former president of Íøºì±¬ÁÏ, Baltimore (UMB), interprofessional education has always come down to a simple idea: Patients receive better care when professionals from different disciplines work together to address every aspect of their needs. 

That philosophy was at the center of UMB’s14th Annual Interprofessional Education (IPE) Day, which brought together more than 500 students from across UMB’s professional schools on April 2 for an afternoon of collaborative learning, patient-centered discussions, and simulated case experiences designed to prepare them for collaborative practice. 

Hosted by UMB’s Center for Interprofessional Education (CIPE), the annual event included students from the schools of Dentistry, Graduate Studies, Law, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, and Social Work, as well as learners in the Physician Assistant and Doctor of Physical Therapy programs. Through patient panels, breakout sessions, and interprofessional simulations, students explored how various fields contribute to patient care — and how collaboration can improve outcomes for patients and families alike. 

Perman, who championed interprofessional education during his tenure as UMB president and helped launch IPE Day, reflected on how his own experiences shaped that vision. 

“If a colleague in another health care profession came along with me to see a patient in the hospital, anecdotally, I thought that patient got better care,” Perman said during an interview before the event. “The colleague — whether it be a pharmacist or a nurse or a nutritionist — always raised something that I hadn’t thought of.” 

In opening remarks at the event, current UMB President Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS, echoed that message, recalling his experience as a transplant surgeon working alongside professionals from multiple disciplines. 

“I learned very, very early that different practitioners bring different skills to the table when it comes to taking care of patients,” Jarrell told attendees. “And second of all, I learned to listen to them and learn so that I could deliver the best care possible for my patient.”  

Perman reminded students that while every patient requires a large care team, many health challenges are too multifaceted to be addressed by a single profession alone. 

“You're all preparing to care for patients, and we hardly need to suggest that every patient needs a team approach. Of course, that's not true,” he noted.  “But you'll be surprised as you progress in your clinical education as to how many do.” 

He emphasized that many patients face barriers tied to transportation, finances, food access, and other social determinants of health. Addressing those challenges, he stressed, often requires coordinated support from pharmacists, nurses, physical therapists, dentists, dental hygienists, physicians, physician assistants, lawyers, and social workers. 

The event kicked off with the Interprofessional Patient Experience, a panel that demonstrated how those challenges can intersect through the story of Connor, a child with complex medical needs whose care has required a broad network of providers and support systems. Connor’s mother described the challenges of navigating hospital systems, therapies, school accommodations, insurance programs, and home care — and how coordinated communication and collaboration among providers helped make an overwhelming situation more manageable. 

The discussion, moderated by Elsie Stines, DNP, CRNP, assistant vice president for Special Projects and Initiatives, who leads UMB’s President’s Clinic, featured faculty and clinicians from pharmacy, nursing, and social work — including Jill A. Morgan, PharmD, BCPS, BCPPS, FNAP, professor and chair of the Department of Practice, Sciences, and Health Outcomes Research at the Íøºì±¬ÁÏ School of Pharmacy; Everett Smith, MSW, clinical instructor and director of Tele-Behavioral Health Education; and Margaret Martin, RN, BSN, pediatric gastroenterology nurse, in addition to Perman. Together, the group explored how team-based care helped address not only Connor’s medical needs, but also the practical and emotional challenges his family faced. 

Following the panel, students participated in breakout simulation sessions where interprofessional groups worked through a standardized patient case that extended beyond medical symptoms alone. Students met with “Morgan,” a patient living with multiple sclerosis who described worsening leg pain, declining balance and hand coordination, trouble swallowing, unemployment, and fears that her mobility challenges could eventually prevent her from accessing her second-floor subsidized apartment. 

As students from different disciplines collaborated on possible solutions, they considered not only Morgan’s medical care, but also financial, legal, and social challenges affecting her health. Suggestions included connecting her with occupational therapy resources to improve hand dexterity, exploring medication-management options with pharmacy specialists, advocating for accessible housing accommodations, and helping navigate disability benefits and insurance concerns.  

The exercise highlighted one of IPE Day’s central lessons: Effective patient care often requires professionals from multiple fields working together to address the many factors that impact a person’s health and well-being. 

“This event is really designed to help prepare students for when they graduate, or even in their later level learning, to interact with patients in interprofessional care teams,” said CIPE Director Heather B. Congdon, PharmD, CDCES, FNAP. “We’re teaching them how to do that in today’s activity, so that they’re more ready to be able to be efficient and effective when they’re working in interprofessional care teams in the future.”  

That spirit of mutual respect and shared expertise, Perman said, is exactly what IPE Day is designed to foster. 

“If you learn to appreciate each other in your respective fields,” he told students, “you will have had a very important day in your education and training.”