Moving IPE from being 'worthy' to 'required' in health professional curriculum: Is good governance the missing part?

Introduction: There is an accelerating trend towards interdisciplinary learning and teaching activities in higher education. However, traditional discipline-based approaches to making and implementing decisions (academic governance) can be out of step. Within health professional education, there is a particular need to embrace interdisciplinary approaches to learning in the form of interprofessional education (IPE). The aim of this study was to identify academic governance models that successfully, or otherwise, supported the maintenance of quality standards of IPE programs and learning activities.Method: A 10-year literature search yielded 11 articles that addressed the IPE governance of academic standards.Results: Three models were identified: centralized, decentralized, and stand-alone. Key features of each are described with discussion on strengths and weaknesses for curriculum development, academic leadership and student learning, and the challenges of enabling interprofessional governance within traditional university academic governance structures.Conclusion: As with interdisciplinary education more broadly, there is emerging literature regarding effective governance systems to enable quality IPE within individual institutions. Educators should give careful consideration to the optimal governance model for their particular institution and context.