•
PORTLAND, Maine

UNE launches 2015 CLARION case competition

The University of New England CLARION committee of the Interprofessional Student Advisory Team (IPSAT) recently held its third annual CLARION case competition kick-off event. Founded by the University of Minnesota, the CLARION case competition is dedicated to furthering interprofessional collaboration that promotes patient safety and improved health care quality.

All participants complete the Institute for Health Improvement (IHI) basic certificate, which requires participants to complete online courses that teach the foundations of quality health care around the world. This year, UNE has 16 participants representing a range of professions, including Pharmacy, Doctor of Osteopathy, Nursing, Occupational Therapy, Master of Public Health and Physician Assistant.

Participants were randomly assigned to teams of four, with no more than two like professions in each team. Then, Jeff Nevers, UNE careers services coordinator and affiliated professor of physical therapy, gave a presentation titled “How to Make an Effective PowerPoint Presentation.” Next, the case and paperwork were distributed to each team, and Andrea Nakamura, a 2014 CLARION participant, joined the group via video conference to pass along some tips gleaned from her experience.  

The competition encourages participants to effectively communicate and work together to improve a patient’s quality of life. It mimics the real life practice participants will face in the workforce.

Overall, the third annual Case Competition kickoff was a huge success. Each team has six weeks to conduct a root cause analysis of their case before presenting it to a panel of judges at the local competition on March 7, 2015.  The winning team will participate in the national competition in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in April. 

About the University of New England

The University of New England is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of flexible, accredited online degrees. In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.