CHCS - Perspectives Summer/Fall 2017

College of Health Care Sciences 5 (Continued on next page) The College of Health Care Sciences (CHCS) is committed to preparing the highest quality health care professionals. In line with this commitment, the college has created committees focused on researching and implementing the best practices in health care education. Best practices committees in the college include interprofessional education, hybridization, standardized patients, clinical education, and simulation. “Interprofessional education is an essential pillar of medical education. It facilitates student-to-student learning, enhances communication skills, promotes professional relationships, and readies students for collaborative prac- tice,” said Suzie S. Wolf, M.S., PAS, PA-C, assistant professor and chair of the Interprofessional Education Best Practices Committee. “The transition from the classroom to clinical setting, and the ability to participate in interprofessional practice, is enhanced by a prior exposure to interprofes- sional education.” This article focuses on the work being done in the college involving interprofessional education and practice. Leveraging Our Collective Strengths and Commitment Research shows that the most successful individuals, organizations, and systems work to identify their strengths and leverage those assets toward increased and expanded success. The CHCS, which has 29 academic programs spanning 11 professions, is engaging students and faculty and staff members across these programs and professions to maximize the collective wisdom, skills, and unique perspectives. Interprofessional education initiatives in the college are being carried out in a variety of ways. Some are hap- pening within the classroom through common curricular experiences, while others are occurring in the community through service-learning experiences. One concern Diverse Interprofessional Experiences During the past five years, the Fort Myers Physician Assistant (PA) Program has hosted an interprofessional service day for migrant workers and their families in Immokalee, Florida. It is called Project S.E.E.D.—Serving Everyone, Embracing Diversity. During the past two years, the Fort Myers PA Program has partnered with the Fort Myers Nursing Program to create a true interprofessional education and collaboration experience. The students and faculty members work with a local church in Immokalee to provide health screenings, mammograms, and dental services. They also collaborate with the local Collier County Health Department to provide workshops on mosquito awareness, HIV testing, and dental hygiene. This year, the Collier County Foundation awarded the program a $12,000 grant. The Jacksonville Physician Assistant Program has established a system similar to Project S.E.E.D. in nearby Hamilton County. It also continues to participate in its annual collaboration with the St. Johns River State College respiratory care, paramedic, nursing, and radiology programs on an IPE simulation. In this simulation, paramedic students retrieved the patient and presented the case to the interprofessional team, which included a physician assistant, licensed prac- tical nurse/registered nurse, and respiratory care students. The students continued the simulation together to address the patient’s needs. expressed often by faculty members nationally is that it can be very difficult to coordinate schedules and curricula to carry out this well-known best practice. The CHCS worked diligently to overcome these obstacles and has implemented initiatives across professions, as well as across campuses. A few examples of these experiences are discussed below.