Through strong partnerships with the academic sector, regulators, government and community, Nova Scotia Health’s Interprofessional Practice and Learning (IPPL) team plays an integral role in influencing and operationalizing health system priorities, providing leadership and accountability across Nova Scotia.
IPPL’s areas of influence
Person-centred care
A culture of person-centered care is one where dignity, respect, and compassion for people are paramount, and where individual patient, family, and community needs, values, beliefs, and preferences are the focus of care and service.
Team-based care
With team-based care, a spectrum of team members work collaboratively with patients, families, communities, and each other to achieve shared goals; where people are empowered to drive their care to the extent they wish; and where all health care team members work to the full extent of their education, certification, and experience.
Evidence-informed practice
IPPL is driving and defining professional practice standards and collaborating with partners to develop, monitor, and enable implementation of provincial clinical standards and guidelines to ensure responsive, ethical, evidence-informed, and accountable clinical practice across the organization.
Learning, professional development and academic partnerships
By leading the provision of professional development and education opportunities for learners, leaders, and health care providers, we build competency, bridge theory to practice, and enable continuous learning through strategic partnerships.
IPPL programs, services, and supports
Learning opportunities
Nova Scotia Health is committed to building capacity in our health care workforce by supporting a culture of lifelong learning and professional development. It’s why we offer a variety of learning and professional development opportunities.
Nova Scotia Health Learning Institute for Health Care Providers: Formerly known as the Registered Nurses Professional Development Centre, this institute offers education programming designed to meet the needs of learners across the province, thereby strengthening our health care system.
Simulation Education: Realistic high-fidelity patient simulator learning suites and surgical skills lab offers medical and healthcare learners an opportunity to develop and refine their skills while safely learning to work effectively as part of an interprofessional team. Watch a video about simulation education at the Nova Scotia Health Learning Institute for Health Care Providers.
Student Learner Placement Services: This supportive group works with educational institutions across Canada, as well as staff, managers, and program leaders within Nova Scotia Health, to organize hands-on clinical placements for postsecondary students from a wide range of disciplines.
NS Health Clinical Psychology Residency Program: Accredited by the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA), this program provides training in a range of inpatient and outpatient settings, with four training tracks.
School of Health Sciences: Offers nationally accredited entry-level and Post Diploma baccalaureate education in five unique disciplines. The only fully integrated four-year university-based program of its kind in Canada.
Professional practice supports
Provincial Early Immersion Program: By immersing nursing students as casual staff within the health system, we’re able to onboard nursing students early, and help ensure retention of talent in the province. Students are hired into casual positions following 440 hours of clinical time.
Professional Practice Orientation and Transition to Practice Program: This program assists health care providers transition the competencies achieved as a learner to specialty practice, while becoming increasingly competent in practice over time with regular competency assessments, preceptorship, mentorships and opportunities for continuing professional development.
Virtual Mentorship Program: The goal of this program is to enhance the "staying power" of new health care providers in Nova Scotia Health. Mentors receive training to support newly graduated practitioners in various practice settings.
Provincial Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Program: Delivered through contracted service providers, specially trained on-call Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANEs) provide immediate care within seven days of a sexual assault to people who would like supportive care.
Provincial Library Services: Library services can help you source documents and literature, offers consultation services, delivers education and training sessions, supplies spaces for meeting and study, and offers help with copyright and citation management.
Provincial Pressure Injury and Would Care Program: Provides the resources to support the delivery of high-quality, evidence-based best practices for improved skin health, and wound prevention and management in Nova Scotia.
Clinical Education and Practice Support Team: Offered as part of the IPPL team, clinical education and practice supports are offered to enhance just in time learning in the interface of care. The IPPL team utilizes adult education principles, clinical education and with a special focus on clinical and professional and interprofessional education. On one occasion, virtual education is provided.
Zone Based Consultations: Our zone teams facilitate and advance excellence in collaborative person centred care through an integration of a variety of services aimed at enhancing collaborative learning and practice. Services and programs integrate evidence informed practice and ensure practices and processes support quality care at the person, provider, team and system level.
Preceptorship Program:
Clinical Leadership Program: We take a leadership role in creating a culture of learning with a focus on clinical practice, clinical leadership, knowledge translation, and interprofessional collaboration. In this two-day session, we ensure the design and delivery of learner centred, professional development to enhance staff skills and knowledge and we coach leaders to help create environments that embed learning in the practice setting.
New Manager Series: We offer a three-part series for new managers.
Session 1: Foundations of managing performance and practice issues.
Learning Outcomes:
- To clarify the processes involved in the management of performance issues
- To discern what is a “practice issue” in the context of performance management
- To identify resources and tools available to managers when addressing performance issues
Session 2: Holding effective performance and practice conversations
Learning Outcomes:
- To develop strategies to deal with the emotional dimensions of important conversations
- To understand the elements and process for intentional conversations
- To practice applying a structured approach to conversations.
Session 3: BYOE- Bring your own example
Learning outcomes:
- To refresh understanding of key processes
- To work through your example
- To receive feedback on your approach and plan from your peers.
