Kathleen Kent, Joan Kowolik, Carol Clark, and Richard D. Jackson, School of Nursing
Principal Investigator: Kathleen Kent, clinical assistant professor, Department of Community and Health Systems, School of Nursing
Co-principal Investigators: Joan Kowolik, associate professor, Department of Pediatric Dentistry, School of Dentistry; Carol Clark, clinical assistant professor, Department of Community and Health Systems, School of Nursing; and Richard D. Jackson, associate professor, Department of Cardiology, Operative Dentistry, and Dental Public Health, School of Dentistry
Project Title: A Summer Clinical Practicum for Oral and Systemic Health Screening Assessments of Pediatric Patients
Funding Level: $8,748
Abstract:
Healthcare providers are assuming responsibility for performing assessments that would have previously been considered outside their scope of practice; nurse practitioners (NPs) to assess oral health and dentists to screen for chronic systemic diseases. Concurrently with these changing responsibilities, interprofessional education (IPE) and practice is considered the foundational basis for healthcare delivery in the future. However, experiential opportunities to learn collaboratively are lacking during professional training with the assumption these skills will somehow be acquired once in practice. If dentists and NPs are to collaborate in practice, they must learn about, from and with each other while in training. In this initial exercise, dental and nurse practitioner students will learn skills from one another that will be useful to them when they enter practice; assessing children’s oral health and screening for pediatric hypertension. Before the exercise, online didactic modules will be completed to provide foundational knowledge related to these assessments. Students will also review selected literature related to the rationale and value of interprofessional education and practice, the roles of each discipline and write a short reflective paper. NP and dental students will be paired into examining teams and perform assessments with panel of pediatric patients. The objectives are to: 1) learn the responsibilities and scope of practice of the other profession, 2) collaborate to learn and perform oral examinations, measure BP and BMI and determine if referrals are warranted and 3) to assess their perceptions concerning IPE prior to and following the exercise using a validated questionnaire.