The Covid -19 pandemic presents unique challenges in development of programs for interprofessional faculty education that also provide needed support of our health care workers. Two weeks after our community required physical distancing, our interprofessional academy, Duke AHEAD started two programs that ultimately not only offered practical faculty development, but also served the unexpected benefit of supporting our faculty and staff. With over 700 members in Duke AHEAD, the virtual platform of ZOOM offered both benefits and challenges to this programming. We decided when much of our classroom teaching became virtual to offer our first session on practical tips on use of ZOOM. It was important to ask faculty or staff who were actually teaching to share their real-life experiences. Topics included ergonomics of working at home, use of standardized patients in virtual teaching of the physical exam, simulation for the beginner and weekly "Happy Hours" for discussion of participant generated topics. There were several unexpected benefits to these sessions: 1) greater and more diverse attendance, 2) many more comments and questions and shared perspectives by use of the chat room, 3) willingness to share articles, websites, practical tips during the presentations 4) use of an icebreaker question during the "Happy Hours" such as "Use one or two words to describe your past week" was cathartic and revealed a common level of hope, anxiety, and isolation. Some of the unexpected difficulties included technical issues by the speakers and the audience which could be distracting, lack of eye contact, inability to always recognize participants quickly by name, and ZOOM fatigue. The benefits so far have definitely outweighed the distractions. The ability to quickly develop faculty development activities with a persistent wellness component is necessary particularly as we continue physical distancing and can support the need for ongoing "Happy Hours."
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.
Lolita O’Donnell, LaDonna King, Barbara Anderson, Wendy Ward, Kathryn Neil, Diana McNeil, Shelley Cohen Konrad
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.
In support of improving patient care, this activity is planned and implemented by The National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education. The National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
As a Jointly Accredited Provider, the National Center is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved under this program. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. The National Center maintains responsibility for this course. Social workers completing this course receive continuing education credits.
This activity was planned by and for the healthcare team, and learners will receive Interprofessional Continuing Education (IPCE) credit for learning and change.
