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Teamwork Makes the System Work
Local health professional students learn together to provide better care . BY EMILIJA SAGAITYTE
“ Going to the doctor ” rarely means seeing one person . Nurses and physician assistants , pharmacists and social workers all work with the patient and with each other to provide care .
The Rhode Island Collaborative for Interprofessional Education and Practice started informally a decade ago to offer health professional students in Rhode Island the opportunity to work together and learn from each other . The member schools — The Warren Alpert Medical School , Rhode Island College , and the University of Rhode Island — joined together through a formal agreement in 2018 ; CCRI signed on later .
“ Team-based care is ... promoted by the World Health Organization as the best approach to providing comprehensive equity and access to care ,” says Jim Ryczek , MSW , LICSW , director of the Collaborative , as it ’ s known for short .
The initiative ’ s success thus far is also a reminder of the benefits to being a small state . Ryczek believes the Collaborative has outlived its peer programs in other New England states due to Rhode Island ’ s tighter-knit community . It now offers valuable , unique health education opportunities , he says .
The Collaborative ’ s Interprofessional Community Preceptor Institute educates staff in medical practice and social service using the National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education ’ s core competencies for interprofessional practice , including teamwork , communication , responsibilities , and ethics .
Students from the member schools work together during biannual Interprofessional Education Days to address patient case studies “ from a multidisciplinary perspective ,” says Sarita Warrier , MD , the Medical School ’ s interim associate dean for medical education . Faculty evaluate participants primarily on their teamwork skills . ( CCRI , which has been invited to attend relevant parts of the event , has its own program with a similar purpose .)
In addition to giving students a more holistic view of medicine , the Collaborative ’ s community-based initiatives introduce
8 HEALTH DISCOVERIES l WINTER 2022