CHCS Perspectives Summer/Fall 2013

PERSPECTIVES • SUMMER-FALL 2013 – Page 11 and engagement in their teams, and maintaining effective intra-group communication. Successful teams learned the importance of perseverance, collaboration, and interpro- fessional practice in leading community education initiatives. Initiative Outcomes Students and faculty members gained experience in creating a shared vision, inspiring engagement, and adjusting the trainings to fit their audience. Regarding learning out- comes reported by participants, one individual reported gaining “increased skills in col- laboration between multidisciplinary team members.” Another individual wrote, “The power of an interprofessional team to educate is exponential,” while a third team mem- ber expanded on this point by saying, “As individual professionals, we can practice our profession; together, we can deliver comprehensive health care.” NSU’s College of Health Care Sciences was the first to lead the Live Empowered Diabetes Education Initiative in Broward County and one of the first in the nation to lead the trainings. Overall, the teams educated approximately 170 individuals in Broward County. This initiative is one of the broadest interprofessional, student/fac- ulty-led community education initiatives at NSU. In addition to the community educa- tion workshops, the College of Health Care Sciences raised funds for the American Diabetes Association by participating in its annual walk in November 2012. In March 2013, the college hosted Diabetes Alert Day at NSU—one of 10 Diabetes Alert Day events held in Broward County. NSU Diabetes Alert Day partners included the CHCS general sonography team, the NSU Pharmacy Clinic, the NSU Eye Care Institute, Wal- greens, Humana, and the NSU clinics. Our Vision The project leadership team began recruiting new interprofessional student/faculty teams in July. Based on the SOAR Analysis—a form of action research completed by the students and faculty members—the leadership team has decided to create regularly scheduled diabetes education workshops at NSU beginning in September 2014. Work- shops will be led by student/faculty/clinician teams on a variety of issues that are im- portant to patients with diabetes and their families. Diabetes prevention workshops will also be offered. Additionally, the initiative will expand to include students and faculty members from the NSU College of Pharmacy, the NSU College of Optometry, and the NSU College of Osteopathic Medicine. The initiative is expected to broaden its scope next year as a result of the overwhelm- ingly positive response from community partners and the other colleges within the NSU Health Professions Division. “I am proud of the contributions our interprofessional student/faculty teams have made to Broward County residents and their families,” said Dr. Richard Davis, dean of the College of Health Care Sciences. “Students and faculty members expanded their diabetes knowledge base while honing leadership skills that will serve them in their professional endeavors.” NSU students participating in the Diabetes Education Initiative in Broward County. INTERPROFESSIONAL PARTNERSHIPS