TURK-IPECP Network

TURK-IPECP Network

Turkic-speaking Countries Network for Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice

 

Background: To facilitate and enhance inclusive collaborative practices across Turkic-speaking countries and communities, interprofessional education and collaborative practice should be developed in culturally responsive and linguistically accessible ways. Although Turkic-speaking countries share historical, linguistic and cultural ties, their health systems, educational structures, professional roles and patterns of social interaction differ across national and regional contexts. Comparing these contextual expressions can strengthen the understanding of common values, shared professional needs and country-specific approaches to interprofessional collaboration.

The TURK-IPECP Network is not intended to replace existing national interprofessional education and collaborative practice networks, academic groups or professional associations. Its main focus is to support culture-specific and language-sensitive IPECP development within the Turkic-speaking world. The TURK-IPECP Network aims to enable the exchange of educational, scientific and practice-based resources to facilitate interprofessional learning, research and collaborative healthcare practice.

The TURK-IPECP Network primarily focuses on Turkic-speaking countries and communities, including Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, while also remaining open to academic and professional collaboration with Turkic-speaking communities in wider regions.

Challenges: Institutional recognition and support from participating Turkic-speaking countries. Sustaining the TURK-IPECP Network through stable administrative and financial resources. Developing shared terminology for interprofessional education and collaborative practice across Turkic languages. Acquiring funds for cross-cultural research, curriculum development and faculty development in IPECP. Supporting student engagement and early-career researcher participation in TURK-IPECP Network activities. Ensuring balanced representation across countries, disciplines and healthcare professions.

Priorities: Expanding the TURK-IPECP Network with equitable representation from Turkic-speaking countries and communities. Increasing the number of individual and institutional members. Creating a shared repository of IPECP teaching materials, assessment tools, case scenarios and research resources in Turkic languages. Developing multilingual glossaries and culturally adapted terminology for interprofessional education and collaborative practice. Encouraging joint research projects, comparative studies and cross-cultural publications among Turkic-speaking countries.Recruiting authors from underrepresented Turkic-speaking countries for collaborative handbook chapters, guidelines and position papers. Organizing regular online seminars, student forums, faculty development workshops and international symposia on IPECP.

The TURK-IPECP Network will be structured through country representatives who will facilitate institutional communication, promote national participation, contribute to collaborative research and educational activities, and support the development of culturally and linguistically responsive IPECP resources across Turkic-speaking countries and communities.

Contact: giraykolcu@sdu.edu.tr