Improving Health Outcomes through Interprofessional Education

With the Cynthia Prestholdt Interprofessional Collaboration Fund, the Southeastern Louisiana University College of Nursing and Health Sciences will expand interprofessional collaborative learning experiences to help improve the health outcomes of citizens in southeast Louisiana and beyond.

Interprofessional education occurs when students from two or more professions learn about, from and with each other to enable effective collaboration and improve health outcomes. In its Framework for Action on Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice, the World Health Organization and its partners recognize interprofessional collaboration in education and practice as an innovative strategy that will play an important role in mitigating the global health workforce crisis.

Our goal is to improve the health and wellness of the region by expanding evidence-based interprofessional collaborative learning experiences and services. We will do this through the College’s Real-World Ready initiative with three key objectives:

1. Building on Southeastern’s innovative health profession curricula, develop and enhance interprofessional educational experiences.

2. Prepare the next generation of health care professionals with skills and competencies to work collaboratively with individuals, families, other professionals, and community-based providers to enhance health and wellness.

3. Provide expanded direct services for the citizens in southeast Louisiana and beyond through clinical, community-based research, service-learning, and study abroad.

This fund has been established by Coletta C. Barrett in honor of Cynthia Prestholdt to expand interprofessional collaborative educational opportunities dedicated to the development and furtherance of effective collaboration and improved health outcomes. It is the intention and hope of Mrs. Barrett that others will join her in continual support of this initiative.

Initial funding will support ongoing development of partnerships with systems of care to promote innovative models of health care delivery. As the program progresses, funding will be used to promote the evidence-based, nurse led, team based Transitional Care model.

 

Why the College of Nursing and Health Sciences

The College of Nursing and Health Sciences is committed to preparing the next generation of health care professionals by emphasizing wellness and prevention, promoting human development and services, and managing complex health care needs. The College trains future health care leaders to understand the importance of professional collaboration and evidence-based interventions. Southeastern’s innovative curricula promotes real-world experiences that help students translate research into practice. Three unique departments, as well as a nurse practitioner-managed University Health Center, build on rich, diverse backgrounds and experiences to fulfill the promise of meeting these challenges.

Ranking 48th in the nation in health, Louisiana residents need a radical shift in how they receive and participate in their care. Southeastern's College of Nursing and Health Sciences is poised to deliver innovative health care and help bring about change for improved wellness for our citizens through an expanded interprofessional health-care team program.

 

Key Features

Culturally Diverse Learning Experiences

Future nurses gain invaluable experiences in the field that make them sensitive to the diversity of today’s global society and better equipped when operating in the real world.

Safe Practice in Real Situations

Teaching with simulation provides positive impact on student outcomes. Increased faculty training and education will lead to improved development of simulation modules and better prepared nurses.

TeamSTEPPS for All

Faculty trained in TeamSTEPPS are essential so that students enter the workforce knowing team strategies and having the tools necessary to enhance their performance and ultimately
patient safety.

Reducing the Cost of Repeat Healthcare

Through partnerships with agencies who utilize care coordination initiatives, Southeastern students will use technology to bridge home and medical care to help reduce recidivism in doctor or emergency room visits. Patients who participate in telehealth interventions can receive more comprehensive management, with a goal of leading to quicker health stabilization and, ideally, learn how to become more competent in self-management.

Electronic Health Record Literacy

Southeastern student nurses need extensive training on modern electronic health record systems prior to entering the workforce. By providing student nurses with hands-on experience with computerized medical information systems that collect, store and display patient information, they will enter the workforce knowing how to create legible and organized recordings and how to access clinical information about individual patients.