The George Washington University School of Nursing (SON) has received a three-year, $1 million grant to increase interprofessional education training for nurse practitioners.
This funding, from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, will be used to develop online programming and to enhance students’ clinical experiences.
The programming, intended for those enrolled in M.S.N. and D.N.P. nurse practitioner programs at GW, will teach students how to work in a team with a variety of health care professionals. It will focus on the management of patients who have been diagnosed with two or more medical conditions that last a year or longer, such as arthritis, cancer and dementia. These types of conditions require ongoing medical attention and can limit activities of daily living.
Caring for patients who have multiple chronic conditions often requires knowledge that is beyond the scope of any single provider, making collaborative work key, said Christine Pintz, associate dean for graduate studies in SON. Dr. Pintz is the project’s principal investigator.
This grant comes at a critical time. Nurse practitioner employment opportunities are expected to grow by 31 percent from 2012 to 2022, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, an increase fueled in part by the estimated 32 million patients who gained health insurance as a result of the Affordable Care Act. With health care becoming increasingly complex, medical organizations have suggested that health professional students learn to work as part of an interprofessional health care team.
“Working with people from different health care disciplines, who may have different perspectives on health, can be challenging for new graduates,” Dr. Pintz said. “This award will help students gain the knowledge, skills and attitudes to practice within an interprofessional environment.”
A team in SON, led by Director of Instructional Design Laurie Posey, will develop the online educational materials. This curriculum will guide students through how to manage patients who have two or more ongoing illnesses as well as how to communicate with a diverse team of health care professionals. The materials will be made available as open educational resources, which means they will be freely accessible to nursing and health professional programs around the world.
Additionally, SON will use the grant to develop clinical sites in Washington, D.C., where students in the nurse practitioner programs will have the opportunity to work with students in various health care professions.
As many as 440,000 patients die in U.S. hospitals each year as a result of preventable medical error, according to a 2013 study in the Journal of Patient Safety.
And a lack of effective communication between health care professionals can sometimes be a contributor to negative medical outcomes, said Dr. Pintz. She hopes that this new grant will help alleviate this problem by increasing the number of health care providers educated in how to participate effectively in interprofessional teams.
“Students will not only better understand and appreciate other health care professionals, but they will also learn how their role fits into the function of a greater team,” Dr. Pintz said.