Family Medicine Residents, Optometry Students, and Faculty Members Engaged in Health Professions Education and Collaborative Patient Care:

An Example of a Community-Based Interprofessional Initiative by a Member Institution of the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry (ASCO)

Linda Casser, OD;a Melissa Vitek, OD;b and Valerie Pendley, MDc

Background / Introduction

The mission of the Salus University Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO) , a member institution of the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry (ASCO), is to provide programs of excellence worldwide that prepare optometry students, optometry residents, optometrists, and related providers to deliver exceptional patient care services that exceed practice standards and positively impact patient quality of life. PCO’s programs are offered in an interprofessional environment dedicated to teaching / learning effectiveness, enhancing career development, inspiring and developing leadership, and fostering new discoveries through research.

In 1997, the Centre for the Advancement of Interprofessional Education (CAIPE) in London defined IPE as occasions when students from two or more professions in health and social care learn together during all or part of their professional training with the object of cultivating practice for providing client- or patient-centered health care.

Salus University and its component colleges and programs---the Pennsylvania College of optometry, the Osborne College of Audiology, the College of Education and Rehabilitation, the College of Health Sciences, and the Graduate Programs in Biomedicine---are committed to creating models and promoting a culture of interprofessional education that align with the University’s vision to be recognized nationally and internationally for excellence and innovation.

a Professor , Pennsylvania College of Optometry at Salus University, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, USA, and Member Global Health Forum Participant for the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry lcasser@salus.edu

b Assistant Professor and Director of Electives and Advanced Studies, Pennsylvania College of Optometry at Salus University, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, USA mvitek@salus

c Assistant Director of the Chestnut Hill Family Practice, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Poster Author Information

Methods

Beginning in October 2012, The Eye Institute at the Salus University Pennsylvania College of Optometry and the Chestnut Hill Hospital Family Practice, both located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have collaborated in health professional education and collaborative patient care by implementing an interprofessional model in which second year family medicine residents participate in weekly sessions of active observation of comprehensive eye and vision patient care at the community-based Chestnut Hill satellite facility of The Eye Institute.

The family medicine residents have demonstrated a special interest in the triage of patients with urgent eye conditions, the differential diagnosis of patients presenting with red eye, ocular manifestations of systemic disease, clinical signs and management of glaucoma, and ophthalmic evaluation of the pediatric patient.

The optometry students, family medicine residents, and faculty members have engaged in discussions regarding the assessment and management of patients with hypertension, uncontrolled diabetes, and other systemic conditions.

Results / Discussion

A total of twelve family medical residents have participated in approximately two weekly sessions of patient care each since the initiation of the program.

The family medical residents have been so pleased with their experience during the primary eye and vision care sessions that they requested an additional weekly session with the optometrist who specializes in pediatric optometry. The residents indicate that this additional session has added tremendous value to their clinical rotation.

The interprofessional education and collaboration also reaches beyond the clinical activity: two optometrists have provided lecture presentations to the family medicine residents during their regularly scheduled meetings at Chestnut Hill Hospital.

The lecture presentations have been well received, and plans to expand this element of the collaboration are under active discussion. Anticipated lecture topics include:

Components of a comprehensive eye and vision examination

Ocular urgencies and emergencies

The differential diagnosis of a red eye

Pediatric eye and vision disorders

Conclusion

While the profession of optometry is very well established in the health care arena, efforts and opportunities to share with other health care providers first-hand information and experience about who we are and what we do are always well-placed.

On a direct level, this successful collaborative initiative has allowed practitioners from both family practice medicine and the profession of optometry to gain further respect for each profession’s contribution to the delivery of effective patient care.

On a larger scale, the collaboration represents a synergistic model of interprofessional healthcare and education. This collaborative approach to patient care and clinical education promises more effective healthcare delivery, ultimately leading to improved patient outcomes.

The member institutions of the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry, including students, residents, and faculty members, remain actively committed to effective community-based health professions education, interprofessional education, and collaborative patient care.

Chestnut Hill Hospital The Eye Institute - Chestnut Hill