The Canadian Interprofessional Student Network (CISN) is a group of student representatives from the various national health and human services student associations. This group was formed to allow interaction between these student organizations and promote interprofessional education across Canada.

On June 26th, 2007 student representatives from the Canadian Society of Respiratory Therapists ,(CSRT), the Canadian Association of Speech Language Pathologists & Audiologists (CASLPA), the Dietitians of Canada (DC), and the National Health Sciences Students’ Association (NaHSSA) met to discuss the current lack of formalized student discussion amongst the national health & human service organizations. During this meeting, a motion was put forward and it was voted to formally create the Canadian Interprofessional Student Network (CISN). This network will act as a mechanism to link student representatives from national health & human service associations together to foster interprofessional discussions at the national level.

With the creation of CISN, the following terms for the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) were agreed upon (first drafted March 12, 2007):

1. Invitation from CISN members for other said members to attend their respective conferences, with the registration fee waived, if financially feasible. Each member will independently decide to extend said invite. Members of CISN may acknowledge a primary representative from their association to attend meetings and conferences.
2. NaHSSA will facilitate, at their annual conference, a forum for discussion and knowledge transfer & exchange related to Interprofessional Education (IPE). This will include an invitation for each CISN member to send a representative to attend NaHSSA’s conference. The registration fee shall be waived, if financially feasible and the said attendance is voluntary.
3. Dissemination and sharing of information (such as upcoming conferences, latest media releases/important information regarding the professional associations, etc.) will be done via the Canadian Interprofessional Student Network (CISN) via a member list serve. The network’s list will be updated on a yearly basis through NaHSSA however the network is not an entity of NaHSSA, but rather an independent network.
4. Collaboration between CISN members for resource sharing and program delivery, related to Interprofessional Education (IPE).

CISN has grown and now encompasses many professions in the sectors of health and human services. CISN has a broad and diverse student membership that creates a dynamic forum to keep the IPE discussion alive. Student members provide representation from:

• Student Canadian Chiropractic Association
• Student Network of the Dieticians of Canada
• Canadian Federation of Medical Students
• Naturopathic Students' Association
• Canadian Nursing Students’ Association
• The Canadian Association of Optometry Students
• Canadian Association of Pharmacy Students and Interns
• Canadian Physiotherapy Association
• Canadian Psychological Association
• Canadian Society of Respiratory Therapists
• Canadian Association of Speech-Language Pathologists & Audiologists