Background
Remote Area Medical® (RAM) is a non-profit providing free healthcare services to underserved areas, including rural Appalachia. RAM has collaborated with ETSU to provide patient services and learning opportunities for student volunteers at an annual clinic. Student teams consisted of undergraduate and graduate students with backgrounds in medicine, nursing, pharmacy, speech pathology, and others. The impact on students' attitudes through participation at the event has been followed for two years and the student impact on patient care has been collated for four years.
Strategy
To expand the IPE foundational curriculum, community engagement opportunities were identified. The RAM event was chosen because it was a proven model, most faculty were trained IPE faculty, and it provided exposure to regional social determents of health. The goal was to ensure an IPE focus across all groups. Interprofessional tools were added to the existing online orientation for students and faculty. A facilitators guide was created to add structure, and ensure early focus on the objectives and expectations, as well as time for reflection on IPE concepts.
Conclusions
Partnering with an event already engaging interprofessional students and faculty, providing data to show an ability to improve interprofessional collaboration and attitudes, is a successful approach to expanding community engagement in the IP curriculum. The IPE educational team added tools to ensure alignment with the current curriculum and coverage of the intended objectives. Through this partnership we have extended the ETSU IPE curriculum and added structure to the RAM experience that provides the standardization and focus necessary for an objective learning experience.
In support of improving patient care, this activity is planned and implemented by The National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education Office of Interprofessional Continuing Professional Development (OICPD). The OICPD is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
As a Jointly Accredited Provider, the OICPD is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved under this program. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. The OICPD maintains responsibility for this course. Social workers completing this course receive continuing education credits.
This activity was planned by and for the healthcare team, and learners will receive Interprofessional Continuing Education (IPCE) credit for learning and change.
Physicians: The National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education designates this live activity for AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™.
Physician Assistants: The American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) accepts credit from organizations accredited by the ACCME.
Nurses: Participants will be awarded contact hours of credit for attendance at this workshop.
Nurse Practitioners: The American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Program (AANPCP) accepts credit from organizations accredited by the ACCME and ANCC.
Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians: This activity is approved for contact hours.
Social Workers: As a Jointly Accredited Organization, the National Center is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved under this program. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. The National Center maintains responsibility for this course. Social workers completing this course receive continuing education credits.
IPCE: This activity was planned by and for the healthcare team, and learners will receive Interprofessional Continuing Education (IPCE) credits for learning and change
