CHCS Perspectives Winter 2014

PERSPECTIVES • WINTER 2014 – Page 48 Interprofessional Initiative: Diabetes Screening at Miami Lakes Educational Center Interprofessional education and learning (IPE) have become increasingly important in health care education, which explains why there has been a recently integrated college-wide effort to incorporate IPE into CHCS programs. The NSU Physical Therapy Program and other programs within the college, how- ever, have long been actively engaged in community activities integrating interprofessional engagement. One activity that ex- emplifies this is the Miami Lakes Educational Center’s (MLEC) Annual Diabetes Screening, which is partially funded by the MLEC and Miami-Dade County in cooperation with NSU’s College of Health Care Sciences. Over the past 10 years, the physical therapy, physician assis- tant, and occupational therapy programs have actively partici- pated in this annual activity, while nursing joined the initiative several years into the program. The MLEC is a vocational/tech- nical high school with a primarily Hispanic student body of over 1,000 students. Within the high school is a health academy pro- gram that includes a nursing curriculum. Aided by the MLEC nursing students, the NSU College of Health Care Sciences’ students have screened thousands of adolescents for diabetes risk. This academic year alone, close to 700 students were screened in a single morning. As there is a known higher risk of diabetes in the Hispanic population, get- ting to these young people early facilitates identification of risk factors and provision of education related to prevention and early intervention. As a Miami-Dade County partner, we and the program have been recognized by Miami-Dade County for our commitment to community health. Although we were not award winners when nominated for the Miami-Dade Partner of the Year honor several years ago, the program is definitely a winner. Our efforts have been rewarded by literally saving several lives be- cause problems were identified that would have resulted in se- vere health problems, including potential death in one instance. A variety of screening services are performed with appropri- ate consent. NSU students in each program perform screening consistent with their educational training and professional roles. In the process, they learn about the roles and responsibilities of the other participating health science students. The physical therapy students complete screenings for height, weight, body- mass index, percentiles for age, and waist-to-hip ratio. They also provide backup for blood pressure and pulse screening and supply educational materials to all MLEC student participants. Physician assistant students, based on percentiles for age, per- form blood pressure and pulse screenings as well as capillary blood glucose. Occupational therapy students perform lifestyle screening to help the high school students identify their stress levels and offer educational information on minimizing stress. The nurs- ing students conduct exit consultations, reviewing the findings with the students to ensure they know if they are at risk. MLEC health academy nursing students both check students in and observe the NSU nursing students during exit consul- tation. In addition, screening forms are provided to the high school students directly to share with their parents, guardians, or caregivers. Over the years, an efficient and effective system of screen- ings has developed. Over 120 CHCS faculty members and stu- dents screen 600-700 students in a single morning, averaging 3.5 hours. As it is rare for CHCS students to have the oppor- tunity to interact with adolescents on a large scale in any of the curricula, this is truly a singular opportunity. Because deal- ing with issues of stress levels and body image are challenging for teens, a unique exchange of information and education oc- curs. As the CHCS students are closer in age than faculty members or MLEC teachers, it is a positive experience to wit- ness the communication and exchange of information that oc- curs in the interactions. The NSU faculty members in physical therapy, physician as- sistant, occupational therapy, and nursing are committed to continuing this annual screening. We are proud to be actively contributing to the health of the community. By Debra F. Stern, D.P.T., D.B.A., PT Associate Professor and Director of Clinical Education