National Academies of Practice Celebrates April’s National Interprofessional Health Care Month

Lexington, KY -- The National Academies of Practice (NAP), representing distinguished practitioners, scholars, and public policy advocates from 16 healthcare professions, celebrates National Interprofessional Healthcare Month.

NAP consists of healthcare professionals who have excelled in their individual fields and collaborate to overcome the challenges of healthcare silos. NAP’s sixteen Academies represent Athletic Training, Audiology, Dentistry, Nursing, Nutrition and Dietetics, Occupational Therapy, Optometry, Pharmacy, Physical Therapy, Physician, Podiatric Medicine, Psychology, Respiratory Care, Social Work, Speech-Language Pathology, and Veterinary Medicine. Their mission is to advance interprofessional education, scholarship, research, practice, and public policy while advocating for policies to improve healthcare for all.

NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF PRACTICE WELCOMES NUTRITION AND DIETETICS ACADEMY

The National Academies of Practice (NAP) held their 2024 Annual Meeting and Forum on March 15-16, 2024 and as part of this event, welcomed their newest academy – Nutrition and Dietetics.

The National Academies of Practice leadership unanimously approved Nutrition and Dietetics as the newest academy to join the association. Seven founding Distinguished Fellows and Professional Members were inducted into NAP during the Induction Banquet and Awards Ceremony on March 16. Stephanie Petrosky, DCN, MHA, RDN, FAND will serve as the Chair of the Nutrition and Dietetics Academy and Kathrin Eliot, PhD, RDH/LD, FAND will serve as Chair-Elect for the 2024-2025 term.

Athletic Trainers as Part of the Interprofessional Concussion Management Team

March is National Athletic Training Month, and the Athletic Training Academy is excited to share information about our role as part of an interprofessional concussion management team. While athletic trainers do not work solely with athletes, here we will highlight our role in the management of sport-related concussion. In accordance with the 6th International Conference on Concussion in Sport, we will discuss our role using the 12 ‘R’s of sport-related concussion.

Recognize: Athletic trainers (ATs) are frequently the first healthcare provider to identify a patient suffering from a sport-related concussion (SRC). We are often on the field or court with the patient when the injury occurs. The pre-existing relationships ATs have with their patients facilitate trust and allow us to better evaluate whether there are changes in mood or behavior. Athletic trainers recognize SRCs and work with other healthcare providers to manage the patient’s recovery.

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 March 16, 2024, during a gala at the Hyatt Regency in Jacksonville, FL.

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 recipient was the Kern Collaboratory Faculty Fellowships in Interprofessional Leadership.

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.

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.