Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences
111 University Parkway
Yakima, WA 98901
United States
The Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences – School of Dental Medicine (PNWU-SDM) support the mission of educating and training healthcare professionals emphasizing service in rural and medically underserved communities throughout the Pacific Northwest. The organization is requesting funds for the first time in 2023.
PNWU-SDM hosts the Northwest Interprofessional Health Collaborative (NIHC), which operates as a multi-institutional collaborative that provides faculty professional development and community service & engagement training to advance team-based care and improve community health. The programs NIHC develop equip students with knowledge and skills needed to better achieve the outcomes of 1) improving patient experience, 2) improving the health of populations, 3) reducing the cost of health care, 4) improving clinician well-being, and 5) advancing health equity.
The proposed project, with support from CareQuest Institute, would support the teams at PNWU-SDM and NIHC to develop, implement, measure, and share a comprehensive, multi-year interprofessional education (IPE) curriculum that includes the following elements:
A comprehensive new faculty onboarding program with training on interprofessional teaching and facilitation.
Faculty development on interprofessional practice and education strategies
IPE training and development for community partner healthcare staff
Integrated curriculum development between dental school faculty and healthcare staff
Development and implementation of innovative educational approaches to enhance interprofessional practice.
Development and implementation of outcome measures for each component of the DMD and IPE program
Develop and execute a comprehensive communications plan to disseminate learnings to broader healthcare education community.
The request budget indicates that the majority of grant funds will be allocated to salaries for the IPE Implementation and Assessment ($60,000). The remaining grant funds would support program evaluation and assessment consultants, communications, and conference/presentation travel expenses. Overall, this proposal presents an opportunity to integrate oral health at PNWU-SMD, however, does not indicate intentional engagement of the intended community of impact in the design of the project.