Interprofessional faculty development: integration of oral health into the geriatric diabetes curriculum, from theory to practice

Georgia Dounis,1 Marcia Ditmyer,2 Susan VanBeuge,3 Sue Schuerman,4 Mildred McClain,1 Kiki Dounis,1,5 Connie Mobley21Department of Clinical Sciences, 2Department of Biomedical Sciences, 3Department of Physiological Nursing, 4Department of Physical Therapy, University of Nevada Las Vegas School of Dental Medicine, Las Vegas, NV, USA; 5Department of Family Medicine, University of Nevada School of Medicine, Reno, NV, USABackground: Health care workforce shortages and an increase demand for health care services by an older demographic challenged by oral–systemic conditions are being recognized across health care systems. Demands are placed on health care professionals to render coordinated delivery of services. Management of oral–systemic conditions requires a trained health care workforce to render interprofessional patient-centered and coordinated delivery of health care services. The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the effectiveness of an interprofessional health care faculty training program.Methods: A statewide comprehensive type 2 diabetes training program was developed and offered to multidisciplinary health care faculty using innovative educational methods. Video-recorded clinically simulated patient encounters concentrated on the oral–systemic interactions between type 2 diabetes and comorbidities. Post-encounter instructors facilitated debriefing focused on preconceptions, self-assessment, and peer discussions, to develop a joint interprofessional care plan. Furthermore, the health care faculty explored nonhierarchical opportunities to bridge common health care themes and concepts, as well as opportunities to translate information into classroom instruction and patient care.Results: Thirty-six health care faculty from six disciplines completed the pre-research and post-research assessment survey to evaluate attitudes, knowledge, and perceptions following the interprofessional health care faculty training program. Post-training interprofessional team building knowledge improved significantly. ...