Examples of the Role of Social Workers on Medical Specialty Interprofessional Teams

by A. Suzanne Boyd, PhD, MSW, ACSW, FNAP

During the last 20 years there has been an increase in the number of social work professionals who are members of interprofessional teams in a variety of settings. Most notably social workers are interprofessional team members in health care settings both public health and primary health care settings (Tadic, Ashcroft, Brown, & Dahrouge, 2020). Social workers in the subspecialty integrated behavioral health are well-known and deliver interventions such as clinical therapy services, conduct biopsychosocial assessments, and resource identification. The role of social workers on interprofessional teams at large research medical centers or specialty medical centers has received less attention. They often specialize in patient needs related to a medical specialty area.

Academy News: Podiatric Medicine

by Bob Smith, Podiatric Medicine Academy Chair

I can only imagine that all members of the National Academies of Practice are embracing 2024 of a year forecasting exciting and new opportunities either academically or within our practices arriving at our doorsteps. I reflect on this will be my fifth year as Podiatry Academy Chair and the responsibilities that role means. My fellow, professional, and emeritus members have given me a great privilege to voice their opinions and desires for the future of our small academy.  I am deeply grateful for their continued membership and participation as they see fit.  It is with great sadness that our academy lost one of our leaders who at one time was an emeritus member in December 2023.  Our ranks did grow by one member which delighted our entire academy.   

More Than Just Animal Doctors: Veterinarians in the Healthcare Mosaic

by Michael J. Blackwell, DVM, MPH

Healthcare today often resembles a patchwork—fractured and compartmentalized, each piece addressing a separate concern. Yet health, human or animal, is not a collection of isolated issues. It is a complex, interconnected web, which is why interprofessional collaboration is crucial.

Physical Therapy’s Commitment to Interprofessional Collaborative Care

The physical therapy profession is dedicated to collaborative practice for improved patient outcomes and the advancement of population health.  With our broad scope of practice, physical therapists collaborate with a variety of health professionals to provide comprehensive care across many practice settings. 

Physical therapists collaborate with all professions represented in NAP.  Please read the vignettes below that highlight some of many collaborative care experiences occurring in the physical therapy profession.

A Message from the NAP President
by Andrea Pfeifle, EdD, PT, FNAP

The National Academies of Practice's Vision is to become the alliance of professionals collaborating to transform health and well-being. Our mission is to advance interprofessional education, scholarship, research, practice, and public policy, by:

• Educating and informing our members and others;
• Facilitating collaborative scholarship and research opportunities;
• Recruiting, engaging, retaining, and mentoring our network of members; and
• Advocating the value of interprofessional practice and improving healthcare and policy for all.

The central tenets of our work together are grounded in the core values of collaboration, patient-centeredness, inclusivity, and interconnectedness.  

NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF PRACTICE TO WELCOME RESPIRATORY CARE ACADEMY

The National Academies of Practice (NAP) will be holding their 2023 Annual Meeting and Forum on March 30 – April 1 and as part of this event, will be welcoming their newest academy – Respiratory Care.

The National Academies of Practice leadership unanimously approved Respiratory Care as the newest academy to join the association. Sixteen founding Distinguished Fellows and Professional Members will be inducted into NAP during the Induction Banquet and Awards Ceremony on April 1, 2023. Nancy Colletti, RRT, CPFT will serve as the Chair of the Respiratory Care Academy and Kimberly Clark, EdD, RRT, will serve as Vice Chair for the 2023- 2025 term.

Transforming Reflections
Rick Weisbarth, OD, FAAO, FNAP

Spring is right around the corner and the National Academies of Practice Annual Meeting and Forum is only a little over a week away. 2023 is off to a great start as we continue our work together to Transform Interprofessional Care.

This is my last column as NAP President, and I want to thank everyone for the fantastic collaboration and interconnectedness that have been displayed over the last two years. We should all be proud of our many accomplishments.

Looking Back Moves Us Forward: The Pioneer of Advocacy 

 

Since NAP seeks to improve healthcare and policy for all, it might be worthwhile to look into history to learn more about how to accomplish this goal.

NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF PRACTICE (NAP)
ANNOUNCES ANNUAL AWARD WINNERS

Each year at the National Academies of Practice (NAP) Annual Membership Banquet and Induction Ceremony, NAP bestows awards to truly deserving candidates who are nominated by their peers. This year’s awards were presented on April 1, 2023 during a black tie gala at the Capital Hilton in Washington, DC.

The Creativity in Practice & Education Award was established to recognize and encourage interprofessional programs, projects, and models which focus on the improvement of healthcare. This year the award has two recipients: CAIPER eLearning Trainings from Arizona State University and the Case of the Kidnapped Healthcare Professionals: Developing a Virtual, Avatar-Based, Multi-User 3-D Video Interprofessional Escape Room from Ball State University.

COVID-19 Resources

 

From the Global Forum:

Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Task Force

Each year at the National Academies of Practice (NAP) Annual Induction Banquet, NAP bestows awards to truly deserving candidates who are nominated by their peers.  This year’s awards were presented on March 5, 2022 at the Hyatt Regency Mission Bay at a black tie gala.

The Creativity in Practice & Education Award was established to recognize and encourage interprofessional programs, projects, and models which focus on the improvement of health care.  This year’s award went to Thomas Jefferson University’s Complex Care Curriculum – 3Cs.

NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF PRACTICE WELCOMES ATHLETIC TRAINING ACADEMY

The National Academies of Practice held their 2021 Virtual Forum on March 18-20 and as part of this momentous 40^th anniversary event, welcomed their newest academy – The Athletic Training Academy.

NAP believes that healthcare practice with an interprofessional foundation focused on the whole person is essential for effectively addressing the COVID-19 pandemic and other similarly complex and multisystem conditions that necessitate coordinated and comprehensive delivery of interprofessional collaborative care from multiple professions.

Many professional associations have requested telehealth provisions be included among acceptable and clinically appropriate services to facilitate truly patient-centered care (see addendum for a list of professional associations representative of the NAP membership). To provide quality interprofessional collaborative care during the COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth services have been expanded for a number of professions, with positive outcomes. National advocacy organizations, such as the National Association for the Support of Long Term Care (NASL) and the National Association of Rehabilitation Providers and Agencies (NARA), have partnered with professional associations to advance the appropriate use of telehealth in an effort to assure universal access to health care.

NAP has published a Commitment Statement on Equal and Safe Access to Health Care and Individual Health and Well-Being. NAP is committed to do our part to end injustices and advocate for equal and safe access to health care, individual health, and well-being, and delivering person-centered evidence-based care through an interprofessional approach. 

Read our full statement here.

NAP submitted comments and recommended edits to the American Institutes for Research (AIR) and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) on their definition of "Omissions of Care."  View the letter and comments here.

As a key stakeholder to the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC), NAP had an opportunity to provide public comments to the ONC and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on the 21st Century Cures Act: Interoperability, Information Blocking, and the ONC Health IT Certification Program.

View our comments to ONC here.

NAP submitted comments to the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) on Reducing Regulatory and Administrative Burden Relating to the Use of Health IT and Electronic Health Records (EHRs).

View the comments here.