DALLAS TWP. — Misericordia University recently hosted more than 200 students and 21 faculty facilitators from five colleges and universities in northeastern and central Pennsylvania for the 10th annual Northeastern/Central Pennsylvania Interprofessional Education Coalition’s (NECPA-IPEC) Collaborative Care Summit.
Sponsored by NECPA-IPEC, the conference promotes interprofessional approaches to health care. The coalition is comprised of Johnson College, King’s College, Lackawanna College, Lock Haven University, Luzerne County Community College (LCCC), Marywood University, Messiah College, Misericordia University, Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, Pennsylvania College of Technology, Penn State-Hazleton, The University of Scranton, and Wilkes University. NECPA-IPEC’s mission is to provide vision and leadership to foster and support interprofessional education in health care.
King’s College, LCCC, Johnson College, Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, and the University of Scranton also hosted programs. Working in small, interprofessional groups of students, facilitators discussed the importance of working in cooperation with health care providers and others who contribute to or support the delivery of quality health care services. They also compared and contrasted the roles and responsibilities of other health care providers and how interprofessional teams work together to provide safe and effective patient care.
Participants recognized the importance of patient-centered care and reflected upon individual interpersonal communication skills, such as active listening, encouraging ideas and opinions of team members, as well as respecting others.
The conference brought together students studying health and medical sciences at participating institutions. At Misericordia University, students majoring in diagnostic medical sonography, exercise science, medical imaging, medical physician, nursing, occupational therapy, paramedic, pharmacy, physical therapy, physician assistant, social work, and speech-language pathology learned from each other with a collaborative approach to patient care.
Established in 2008, NECPA-IPEC is a collaborative effort between local colleges and universities that offer health care programs. The organization is leading the way in the development of innovative, collaborative approaches in health care professional education that focus on affecting the delivery of health care and improving patient outcomes. The joint effort is one of the first in the country to introduce the concept of interprofessional education using a regional approach from independent institutions of higher education. For more information about NECPA-IPEC, please log on to www.necpaipec.com.
