In response to experiential rotation disruptions caused by "stay at home" orders related to COVID 19, an interprofessional team of faculty representing medicine, pharmacy, public health and clinical administration came together and quickly designed and launched an interprofessional rotation. This interprofessional rotation offered participants the opportunity to engage in local and regional preparedness and healthcare delivery elements for COVID-19. An interprofessional co-hort of 19 learners participated in this innovative, completely synchronous, virtual rotation.
The learning objectives describe how the rotation connects to our selected themes and are as follows:
1. Develop an appreciation of the roles, methods, and contributions of communities, public health agencies,and healthcare providers as they respond to an infectious disease crisis.
2. Leveraging interprofessional health teams to address limiting the spread of Covid-19 through enhanced testing, education and the distribution of resources.
3. Explore and experience the unique challenges of pandemic control in rural and medically underserved areas.
4. Engage in a collaborative, interprofessional approach to public health and healthcare during a health crisis in real time.
Participating students were placed in interprofessional teams and were tasked with assessing the needs of populations experiencing homelessness, migrant workers, aging adults, incarceration systems and personal protective equipment needs for Western NC. The rotation culminated with a capstone presentation with proposed solutions and supports for their areas of focus. The work accomplished by these teams has expanded the knowledge of our organization and created connections and collaborations that are continuing to move forward to address patient and community needs. This rotation not only provided needed resourcing for our organization, it modeled the success that can be achieved when interprofessional approaches, which include diversity of thought and skills, are modeled and practiced effectively.
Disclosures:
In accordance with the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education’s Standards for Commercial Support, adopted by the Joint Accreditors for Interprofessional Continuing Education, the National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education has a conflict of interest policy that requires that all individuals involved in the development of activity content disclose their relevant financial relationships with commercial interests. All potential conflicts of interest that arise based upon these financial relationships are resolved prior to the educational activity.
Katherine Kenny, Stephanie Kiser, Tamarie Macon, Bryan Hodge, Rachel Bemis, Kathryn Neil, Joseph Sanford, Kevin Sexton, Colleen Reiner, Haru Okuda, Philip Wortham
declare no vested interest in or affiliation with any commercial interest offering financial support for this interprofessional continuing education activity, or any affiliation with a commercial interest whose philosophy could potentially bias their presentation.
