12
COM Outlook . Fall 2012
n July, NSU-COM was awarded a five
year, $1.47 million grant by the U.S.
Department of Health and Human
Services’ Health Resources and Services
Administration. The training grant, which
focuses on primary care and interprofes-
sional education and practice, will enable
NSU-COM Receives Five-Year, $1.47 Million HRSA Grant
I
physician assistant (P.A.) students in this
special interprofessional initiative to
obtain a Master of Public Health degree
at NSU-COM along with their physician
assistant degree completion.
P.A. students selected to participate
in the program will join students from
the College of Osteopathic Medicine that
are enrolled in a similar interprofessional
joint-degree program with the Master of
Public Health Program. The students will
work with the NSU-COM Center for Inter-
professional Education and Practice (CIEP),
which will provide them with interprofes-
sional education, simulations, and clinical
experiences. The students will also partici-
pate in a newly designed three-credit-hour
course on Interprofessional Education and
Practice, which will provide an introduc-
tion to the national Core Competencies for
Interprofessional Education and Practice
as well as offer a forum to examine issues,
challenges, and opportunities in interpro-
fessional practice in a changing landscape
of health care delivery.
Having P.A. students join in this
interprofessional education initiative
Research
H i gh l i gh t s
is an important step in bringing health
professions students together to learn
about the team process and how to
more effectively deliver primary care
that is team-based, patient-centered,
and integrates the core principles of
public health. “I cannot tell you how
pleased I am to see the CIEP and the
joint M.P.H. degree program expand to
include the P.A. program,” said Cecilia
Rokusek, Ed.D., R.D., professor of family
medicine and public health and assis-
tant dean of education, planning, and
research. “This is a true testament to the
leadership of the faculty members in the
Center for Interprofessional Education
and Practice and in our public health and
P.A. programs. This program expansion is
truly helping to make NSU-COM and the
Health Professions Division true leaders
in interprofessional education within the
state and throughout the United States.”
Cyril Blavo, D.O., M.P.H. and T.M.,
FACOP, professor of public health and
pediatrics and director of the M.P.H.
Program, will serve as the program’s
principal investigator.
n June 22-24, the college’s Department
of Rural Medicine hosted its annual con-
ference and recognition weekend for phy-
sicians, physician assistants, nurses, and
administrators from its network of rural/
underserved training partners. These clini-
cal centers participate in the education
of NSU-COM medical students and afford
them the opportunity to render service in
medically underserved communities.
The Rural Medicine Retreat, held at the
Lago Mar Resort Hotel and Club in Fort
Lauderdale, Florida, was coordinated and
hosted by James Howell, M.D., M.P.H.,
assistant dean of professional relations and
chair of the rural medicine department,
and Delia Celestine, Ed.D., M.P.H., assistant
professor of public health and director of
the Department of Rural Medicine. The re-
treat is part of the AHEC Program’s mission
to extend academic resources to rural/
underserved safety net sites throughout
the state. It also brings NSU-COM faculty
members together with primary care phy-
sicians and other providers from various
community health centers, the Florida De-
partment of Corrections sites, and private
physicians’ offices to provide continuing
education on vital health issues.
TOPICS AND SPEAKERS
“
Homelessness in Predoctoral Education”
Kristi Messer, M.P.H., M.S.W.
“
Training NSU-COM Students to Work
with Tobacco-Addicted Patients”
Gary Hill, D.O., Heather McCarthy, D.O.,
Dennis Penzell, D.O., Jill Ross, D.O., Elaine
Wallace, D.O., M.S., and
Steven Zucker, D.M.D., M.Ed.
“
Pediatric Immunization Update”
Hilda De Gaetano, D.O.
“
Managing Pain in Florida”
Alan Seigel, M.D.
Rural Medicine Retreat Provides Multifaceted Activities
O
