Implementing an interprofessional student run free clinic
- 1. Implementing an Interprofessonial Student-Run Free Clinic: Lessons Learned Nancy V. Milligan, PhD, OTR, FAOTA, Danielle Bresso, Mara Monte, Sherin Pennickara Wayne State University, Occupational Therapy Program • Diabetes, an epidemic which affects nearly 30 million Americans, depends on a persons knowledge and ability to perform self-management tasks. To educate the community of the risks for and management of diabetes, the Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences runs the Diabetes Education Wellness (DEW) Clinic which is an inter- professional, student-run, free clinic. Consisting of seven health science disciplines, the students work inter-professionally educating persons with type- 2 diabetes. Clinic attendees are provided with proper resources and tools to manage their diabetes independently. • There is a need for health professionals who function well in a dynamic team-based environment. Interprofessional education aims to meet this need by enabling health professional students to collaborate on teams while working toward common goals1 • To bridge from classroom to a complex healthcare environment, student learning must involve teamwork. The DEW clinic has been in operation for the last five years. To evaluate its effectiveness, a focus group was conducted with students, faculty, and mentors. INTRODUCTION OBJECTIVES • To understand the challenges and benefits of developing and sustaining an interprofessional student run clinic. • To determine the perspective and attitudes of faculty and students toward interprofessional education and improvements to the DEW student run clinic. METHODS • 24 staff and students participated in a focus group addressing perspectives and attitudes toward inter- professional education and improvements for the DEW clinic. A grounded theory approach was used to analyze the data to identify emerging themes. RESULTS REFERENCES What is the goal and perceptions of interprofessional collaboration at the DEW? Theme: • Interprofessional collaboration develops exposure to other resources allowing for a more comprehensive, whole approach to treating a patient with diabetes. "Knowledge and respect for other professions” - CLS "Connects the dots on how the disease affects the whole person“ - Faculty "Increased knowledge and services available from other professions on health care team“ - Pharmacy What are your thoughts about integrated team tables? Theme: • Overall in favor of integrated team tables with complementary grouping of no more than 3 disciplines per table for best patient outcomes. "Teamwork and realizing who can help and use each other to create better outcomes” - Occupational Therapy "Using people with specialized knowledge who can fulfill pts needs” - Medicine Input on Future Training for the DEW Clinic Theme: • A revised format with more organization and include realistic visual training would enhance orientation sessions. "Look at the standards of diabetes education and which discipline should be responsible for that topic" - Faculty "Integrated Training“ - Faculty "More realistic visual training (Mock DEW)" -Occupational Therapy 1. Interprofessional Education Collaborative Expert Panel. Core competencies for interprofessional collaborative practice: Report of an expert panel. Washington DC. 2011 May. 2. Ryskina, K. L., Meah, Y. S., & Thomas, D.C. (2009). Quality of diabetes care at a student-run free clinic. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved. 20(4), 969-981. Additional References: • Healthy People topics and objectives. Available at http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/default.aspx • Detroit’s Diabetes Crisis: Today and Future Trends. 2011. Available at: http://www.altfutures.org/pubs/diabetes2025/DETROIT _MetroArea_Diabetes2025_BriefingPaper_2011.pdf. • The Impact of Diabetes in Michigan.2011. Available at: http://www.michgan.gov/documents/cdch/2011_Impact _of_Diabetes_365234_7.pdf • All participants in the study felt that interprofessional collaboration was beneficial. The clinic provides students with invaluable first hand experiences: serving individuals with type- 2 diabetes, learning alongside health care workers, and taking the lead at problem solving. • Students and faculty mentors were in consensus to integrate the team tables but recommended a maximum of three disciplines to a promote best practice outcomes. • Recommendations for future student training included enhanced visual instruction through a mock DEW clinic demonstration and online tutorials. How does the DEW clinic impact your educational outcomes and professional development? Themes: • An interprofessional collaboration allows for practical application of roles specific to diabetes. • The DEW provides a practical application in a real life context. "Interacting with patients builds confidence when talking with patients and consideration to other concerns they are having“ - Pharmacy "Improves communication, confidence and critical reasoning” - Occupational Therapy “Gives the opportunity to work with other professionals” - Faculty GROUP 1: FACULTY & MENTORS GROUP 2: STUDENTS DISCIPLINE NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS Physical Therapy 1 5 Occupational Therapy 2 3 Pharmacy 1 1 Medicine 1 1 Dietetics 1 1 Clinical Lab Science 1 2 Social Work 2 2 CONCLUSION LIMITATIONS • Limitations in conducting this research included minimal samples and methods of collecting data. Since attendance was not mandatory, only a small sample of students consistently attended the clinic thus providing biased opinions. • Collecting data posed a challenge to interpretation of responses due to restrictions with auditory recordings. Therefore, hand-written notes of focus group responses were the only source of data. “Multiple disciplines at a table helps prevent repetition and saves time” - Medicine “More logistics, extensive (in depth), and organized in a different fashion” - Occupational Therapy Please do not copy