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.
Since returning from our in-person meeting last March in San Diego, multiple strides have taken place to advance the association and build even stronger cooperation and teamwork amongst our members. Highlights of many of these achievements will be presented at the NAP Business meeting at our upcoming Forum in Washington, DC and are being shared electronically with all members in the NAP 2022 Annual Report.
As the alliance of professionals collaborating to transform health and well-being, NAP has once again led the way in our advocacy efforts by creating Position Statements on Interprofessional Collaboration and Health and Reproductive Health Care. In addition, the second iteration of the NAP Interprofessional Practice and Education Lexicon was completed. Further, a NAP Telehealth Tool Kit was developed and our enthusiastic and committed volunteers conducted virtual Hill visits educating members of Congress and their staffs about the important role that interprofessional telehealth plays in today’s healthcare environment.
To provide our members with lifelong learning opportunities, an outstanding curriculum has been developed for this year’s forum where the theme is: Interprofessional Collaboration: Innovation and Inclusivity in Practice, Advocacy, and Scholarship. In addition, other proud accomplishments include the establishment of an online journal club and the development of Virtual Special Topics on Evidence-based practice, Self-care and Pain Management for JIEP (Journal of Interprofessional Education & Practice).
Committed to advancing DEI, our JEDI Task Force developed a demographic survey to establish a baseline for our NAP membership; launched a climate survey; and created a Position Statement on Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.
Furthermore, in a continuous effort to put the patient at the center of everything that we do, the Partnerships & Networking Committee identified patient/client organizational partners and have started conversations around future collaborations.
An internal review of our membership processes was conducted and identified areas that could be enhanced for the advancement of the association. One of the most notable efforts was the modification of the new academy criteria to be more inclusive of professions and disciplines working interprofessionally. This culminated in the acceptance of NAP’s 15th Academy, Respiratory Care, which will induct their inaugural members at our Induction Banquet on Saturday April 1st.
Other noteworthy continuous improvements were made across the organization and additional efforts provided clarification of the membership application process; created a repository of each academy’s ‘best practices’ for connecting with prospective, new, active, and inactive members; updated and simplified our awards nomination and review process; as well as streamlined our journal submission review process and turnaround time.
Looking towards the future, the NAP Council met in Annapolis, Maryland for a Strategic Planning Meeting in fall of 2022. The foundational statements that guide the National Academies of Practice were scrutinized and found wanting. After much discussion on how to properly reflect all that NAP stands for and aims to accomplish, our mission and vision statements were revised. In addition, the group unanimously decided to pursue one strategic goal: creating a culture of cross-academy collaboration. To accomplish this goal, a Strategic Interprofessional Initiative has been created and will aim to demonstrate interprofessional best practices and expertise in education, scholarship, research, practice, and public policy. Based on input from our membership, the focus of this initiative will be placed on Social Determinants of Health. A kickoff of this initiative at the Forum will guide NAPs activities for the next three years.
Living our mission, we are committed to Advancing Interprofessional Education, Scholarship, Research, Practice and Public Policy. This will be accomplished 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.
As I pass the gavel to Andrea Pfeifle, our incoming President, the National Academies of Practice is well positioned to continue transforming interprofessional healthcare and well-being for all.
A special thank you to the Executive Committee, Council, Committees, Task Forces, as well as all volunteers and staff for all that you have done to advance NAP. And to the NAP membership at large, I appreciate you allowing me the opportunity to serve as President of our great organization.
