Perspectives Spring 2015

PERSPECTIVES • SPRING 2015 12 bers and students to address diabetes in Broward County. The IDEA program in- volves 12 faculty team leaders and 60 stu- dents in professions, including physician assistant, occupational therapy, physical therapy, medical sonography, dental, au- diology, pharmacy, nursing, osteopathic medicine, psychology, public health, and optometry. The faculty members and stu- dents have created interactive experiences on a variety of topics such as exercise, healthy eating, medication management, eye health, and a general overview of preventing and managing diabetes. Workshops are designed to be age ap- propriate and are specifically tailored to meet the needs of adult populations, young children, or adolescents. These teams are working with individuals from a range of socioeconomic, cultural, linguis- tic, generational, and educational back- grounds and are having conversations about such issues as cultural competency and health literacy. The National Diabetes Prevention Pro- gram recommends a collaborative ap- proach and points to the importance of partnerships between health care profes- sionals, academia, employers, commu- nity-based organizations, insurers, federal agencies, and other stakeholders. The IDEA Initiative is an example of such a collaborative approach. Currently, NSU has built a partnership between 12 health care programs and the American Dia- betes Association, Humana, Walgreens, South Florida Regional Area Transit, and Norvo-Nordisk. This year, the teams ex- pect to host at least 30 workshops in the community and reach over 1,000 children and adults. At the beginning of each new year, all students and faculty members gather for the IDEA Kickoff—a leadership summit in which participants learn about and apply leadership concepts including aligning organizational mission and in- tended outcomes, group communication, clear roles and responsibilities, leading with strengths, and strategic planning practices. To promote continuous leader- ship and professional development, stu- dents receive the Weekly Words of Wisdom with practical tools and best practices in the areas of leadership, team development, collaboration, cultural competency, communication, diabetes re- sources and best practices, and health lit- eracy each week throughout the year. Consequently, students and faculty members are gaining just-in-time knowl- edge and resources they can apply and discuss within their teams. Additionally, students that chose to return for a second year have the opportunity to apply to serve as an IDEA team leader and gain practical skills leading an interprofes- sional team. The college also focuses on engaging and developing students through a variety of leadership positions. There are 17 stu- dent government associations within the Physical therapy students sign in for a Graduate Professional Success workshop on time management. These workshops are hosted for all CHCS students to explore professional concepts with other members of the HPD community.