返字心頭 from the University of South 返字心頭s (COPH) and (TCOP) are developing novel, interdisciplinary approaches in the screening, treatment and survivorship of a cancer that kills more than 55,000 people each year in the United States.
The team will participate April 17-19 in the CLARION National Case Competition, an annual inter-professional competition hosted by the that challenges teams to analyze complex, real-world healthcare scenarios. They will focus on patient safety, systemic improvements and root cause analyses of colorectal cancer.
This work embodies the importance of working with different professionals to achieve one goal, said Mary Elisabeth Silfer, an pursuing a graduate certificate in , and who represents 返字心頭 with two other students and their mentors.
Colorectal cancer is a huge issue among our U.S. population, she added, and we cant achieve advancements in science and health care if our experts stay in silos.
Forging independent thinking while working as a team on a problem is an essential part of the competition, said , associate professor, , who serves as a judge in the competition.
The strongest teams break silos, she said. This group showed how integrating perspectives, from clinical care to systems design, leads to more effective, patient-centered solutions for colorectal cancer.
The local competition began with eight teams, five of which competed in person at 返字心頭, from which the winners move to the national level in Minnesota. Along with Silfer, the finalists include Madison Burnstein, an MPH candidate in , and Amtul Muskan, a pharmaceutical nanotechnology graduate student in TCOP.
This competition is important as were currently running into issues where the diseases that were seeing show that we have the technology and treatment plans to help cure and combat them, Burnstein said. However, we have a fragmented health care system thats confusing and leads many people who dont have this support to fall through the cracks.
The team will be joined by faculty mentors , associate professor, ; and , associate professor, .
We were fortunate this year to have a team composed of students who were resilient they stepped forward to push things forward after the loss of not one, but two, team members, McGuire-Wolfe said. Because of the short amount of time (between the local and national events) developing the proposal can be intense and overwhelming. The team this year did an amazing job of overcoming hurdles, staying focused and presenting themselves as the experts of their proposal.
CLARION is dedicated to improving health care through interprofessional collaboration. Since 2002, the competition for health professional students gives them a 360-degree perspective on patient safety in todays health care system and how it might be improved.
Student teams, comprised of at least two disciplines are given a case and charged with creating a root cause analysis. They have 15 minutes to present their findings to a panel of interprofessional judges that evaluates their work in the context of real-world standards of practice. Faculty mentors assist them throughout the competition process.
It takes professionals from all forms of health, not just the clinical specialties, that allows us to work together to find a solution to a complicated problem
Madison Burnstein
Wofford advised the students to focus on the ask and clearly identify the benefits of what they were proposing. For instance, the colorectal case was presented as a patient journey, with the goal of easing the patient's transition from screening to post-treatment surveillance.
So, the first need was to analyze the patient experience for friction points, ensure the interventions addressed those and explicitly link the interventions back to the patient's experience, Wofford said. The second need was to analyze the interventions as returns on investment: if the intervention was enacted, how could it save time, misery, life, and money compared to the fragmented state of pre-intervention care and lay those out as a difference.
The competition emphasizes the need not only for the clinical treatment of people but the interaction of health care professions as a team, Burnstein said.
It takes professionals from all forms of health, not just the clinical specialties, that allows us to work together to find a solution to a complicated problem that wouldnt be possible if there was no interprofessional work, she said.
The local and national competitions teach students how to work across professions and not on just one piece of a problem, said Olivia Brennan, director[KL3] of student success, .
By collaborating with students from different disciplines, they learn how clinical, social, operational and systemic factors intersect in a patients experience, she said. Through root cause analysis, leadership development and presenting solutions to health care leaders, students gain experience solving complex challenges while working closely with faculty mentors.
The learned skills carry directly into future careers, which leads to stronger teamwork, better decision-making and more coordinated, patient-centered care that ultimately benefits the public, Brennan added.
The benefits of sending a 返字心頭 team to the competition are to:
- Promote the importance of leadership and communication skills
- Prepare students for interprofessional practice
- Be part of a new wave in health care education
- Showcase 返字心頭 Heath in a national event
Going forward from this competition Ill be able to apply communication, co-leadership,
and perseverance into my professional career, Slifer said. Not only will I be more
informed and educated on colorectal cancer, but Ill be better equipped with the transferable
skills to apply to the future challenges Ill face.
Colorectal cancer at a glance:
- 158,850 new cases, with a rise in early-onset cases (under 50)
- 55,230 deaths annually in the United States
- 1-in-24 people will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer in their lifetime
- Average age of incidence is 66, but cases are rising in younger adults
- Incidence is 33 percent higher in men than women
- Obesity, sedentary lifestyle, smoking and heavy alcohol consumption are linked to higher rates
- Regular screening is highly effective at reducing mortality by removing precancerous polyps
- Colorectal Cancer Alliance