Second Emswiller Interprofessional Symposium set for March 1

By Cynthia McMullen

Interprofessional education and practice are on the forefront in the charge – the mandate – for a more integrated health care team. When health care providers can communicate, share information and plan comprehensive treatment plans, patient-care quality can only improve.

VCU’s Jewell and Carl Emswiller Interprofessional Symposium, initiated in 2013, continues the university’s quest to supply information and encourage discussion on the topic among medical, pharmacy, nursing, dental and other health care professionals.

“From Interdisciplinarity to Interprofessionality: Changing How Care is Delivered” will take place from 8 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. on March 1 at the Richmond Marriott, 500 E. Broad St. The keynote speaker is Barbara Brandt, Ph.D., director of the National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education and associate vice president for education at the University of Minnesota Academic Health Center.

The National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education opened in 2012 as part of a public-private partnership and cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration and the Josiah Macy Jr., Robert Wood Johnson, Gordon and Betty Moore, and John A. Hartford foundations.

As center director, Brandt is responsible for engaging leaders and experts across the country in a groundbreaking effort to improve health by realigning health professions’ education and care delivery.

“Our vision is a model where health care practice and education systems will be true partners, continuously learning and transforming together,” Brandt said. “It will be anchored by highly collaborative interprofessional teams delivering high quality care that meets the diverse needs of patients, families and communities. We will invite and test ideas to drive sustainable national change.”

Following Brandt’s talk, symposium sessions and panels have been designed to help participants differentiate between interdisciplinary and interprofessional care, become acquainted with innovative approaches to increasing interprofessional collaboration, understand facilitators and barriers to interprofessional care, and learn more about educational strategies to improve interprofessional competency. Submitted posters also will be on display.

“Increasing interprofessional practice is essential for providing our communities with the health care they need,” said  Alan Dow, M.D., VCU assistant vice president of health sciences for interprofessional education and collaborative care.  “Through the symposium, we are expanding interprofessional practice by building the network of educators, researchers and practitioners that can improve care in Virginia.”

As part of the symposium, William Hazel, Virginia secretary of health and human resources, and Sheldon Retchin, M.D., VCU senior vice president for health sciences and CEO of the VCU Health System, will discuss “Evolving Payment, Evolving Workforce.”

Along with VCU’s Dow, panelists on a variety of topics will include Ed Ansello, Ph.D., Virginia Geriatric Education Center; Loressa Cole, D.N.P., Virginia Nursing Association; Tina Haney, D.N.P., Old Dominion University; Russell Libby, M.D., Medical Society of Virginia; Tim Musselman, Pharm.D., Virginia Pharmacists Association; John Owen, Ed.D., University of Virginia; Ava Porter, D.N.P., Jefferson College of Health Sciences; and Ted Sherwin, D.D.S., Virginia Dental Association. VCU representatives include Peter Boling, M.D., School of Medicine; Jessica Evans, School of Medicine; Shelly Orr, School of Nursing; Elizabeth Sampson, School of the Arts; and Lynn VanderWielen, School of Allied Health Professions.

Victor Yanchick, Ph.D., dean of the VCU School of Pharmacy, will make opening and closing remarks. The symposium was endowed by Jewell Emswiller in honor of her late husband Carl, a 1962 pharmacy alumnus. Emswiller – a leader and innovator in community pharmacy practice – and his wife shared a passion for collaborative, patient-based pharmacy practice.

The Emswiller Symposium (including breakfast, lunch and breaks) costs $25 for students and $75 for health care practitioners and educators. Click here for more details or to register.  Continuing education credit is available for pharmacists, physicians and nurses.

Click here to learn more about VCU’s Center for Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Care. To see some of the presentations from last year’s symposium, scroll to the bottom of the center column.

 

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