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Winter 2005 |
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E d u c a t i o n
Teamwork key to
new health education curriculum
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Submitted
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Students and professionals
in medicine, pharmacy, social work and nursing will be learning and
working more closely together in future.
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Submitted Article |
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Students and professionals in
medicine, pharmacy, social work and nursing will be learning and
working more closely together in future. The
Centre for
Collaborative Health Professional Education (CCHPE) at Memorial
University has been awarded $1.25 million from Health Canada to
develop an inter-professional education curriculum with activities
that span the health professional education continuum.
“Increased teamwork among health
professionals will allow Canadians to receive care from the appropriate
health care provider at the appropriate time,” said Avalon MP John
Efford, Newfoundland’s representative in the federal cabinet, in making
the recent announcement. “This will help to reduce wait times. This
project at Memorial also responds to commitments in the 10-year plan to
strengthen health care signed by the First Ministers last September.”
The CCHPE project, Collaborating for
Education and Practice: An Inter-professional Education Strategy for
Newfoundland and Labrador, has been developed as part of
collaborations involving the Faculties of Medicine and Education, the
Schools of Social Work, Nursing and Pharmacy, and Memorial’s Counselling
Centre. A project steering committee has been formed to guide the
planning, implementation and evaluation of the overall project. Project
co-leaders are Drs. Dennis Sharpe and Vernon Curran.
Provincial Education Minister Tom
Hedderson said the proposed inter-professional education curriculum
framework supports the current policy direction of the provincial
government. “This funding is important for both our provincial health
strategy and for our commitment to world-class education opportunities.
A team-based, inter-professional approach will benefit both those who
deliver and receive health care services.”
Dr. Christopher Loomis, vice-president
(research) of Memorial University, said this federal grant will allow
CCHPE to develop a much-needed inter-professional education curriculum
with activities that span the health professional education continuum.
“During my years in the School of Pharmacy, I saw first-hand how
pharmacists work with other health care professionals to meet patients’
needs. Pharmacists, nurses, physicians, social workers and education
professionals can all contribute to team care. But to be most effective,
collective education and training is essential. In this way, team
members better understand and value the respective skills of other
health care professionals, and acquire the necessary skills and
attitudes to function in this important working arrangement.”
Dr. James Rourke, Dean of Medicine, said
Memorial is acknowledged as a leading university in collaborative health
education. “Our Centre for Collaborative Health Professional Education
is dedicated to initiate, facilitate and coordinate activities that
enhance the education of all health professionals.”
Students in the health professions also
endorsed the project. David Thomas, medicine, Michael Godsell, pharmacy,
Jean Pike, social work, and Pam Ledrew, nursing, spoke to the importance
of working together and to their commitment to founding a Newfoundland
and Labrador branch of the National Health Professional Students
Association.
Dr. Shelly Birnie-Lefcovitch, director of
the School of Social Work, said the Health Canada grant provides
tangible evidence of the strong history of inter-professional
collaboration which characterizes the health-related disciplines at
Memorial University. “This important investment will enable the
university to develop curriculum and learning materials that will be of
direct benefit to the health and community service system in
Newfoundland and Labrador. As a result of this funding, the university
will be better able to prepare the graduates of its health-related
programs to work in and provide leadership to the interdisciplinary
teams found in all areas of professional practice.”
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