UNE faculty and staff present at Collaborating Across Borders VI conference in Banff, Canada

UNE faculty and staff present at Collaborating Across Borders VI conference

The University of New England was well represented at the Collaborating Across Borders VI conference in Banff, Canada. Ruth Dufresne, S.M., research associate and evaluator in the Center for Excellence in Health Innovation, gave a presentation focused on evaluation of the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation and the Health Resource Services Administration (HRSA) funded Primary Care Training an Enhancement (PCTE) Project. She presented on behalf of the PCTE Team which includes Dora Mills, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.A.P., Jennifer Gunderman, M.P.H., Melanie Caldwell, M.S., Ian Imbert, M.P.H., and Toho Soma, M.P.H., as well as clinical partners at Penobscot Community Health Care (PCHC).

Elizabeth Crampsey M.S., OTR/L, BCPR, Kelli S. Fox LCSW, CCS, LADC, Kris Hall M.F.A., Sally McCormack Tutt PT, D.P.T., M.P.H., and Nancy Jo Ross Ph.D., RN, gave an interactive presentation titled, “Parallel Processes in Interprofessional Education (IPE): From Campus to Community.” They described an interprofessional educational (IPE) experience the team has been teaching for the past three summers in collaboration with clinicians from Maine Medical Center. They led participants through activities that simulated student activities in the course. Other UNE faculty contributors include Jan Froehlich M.S., OTR/L, Valerie Jones LMSW, Kira Rodriguez, M.H.S., and Heather McNeil. 

Faculty worked to parallel/align the on-campus curriculum with professionals in the field to illustrate the real-world challenges faced by interprofessional teams in clinical practice. The course consisted of two classroom sessions and an assignment for the student groups to work on during the week between the classroom sessions. Students were assigned to interprofessional groups and were guided through activities that provided them the opportunity to learn about two key interprofessional core competencies: teamwork and professional communication. The classroom sessions were evaluated by faculty student feedback. The student feedback was analyzed to determine changes in their comfort level with IPE upon completion of the entire series of activities. The results of this analysis were also presented at the conference.

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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.