OISSE Newsletter Volume 1, Issue 3
Spring 2005

Students head to the DR
As of October 2004, Dr. Caroline Goulet was appointed as Co-Director for the Office of Interprofessional Scholarship, Service & Education to promote the international community engagement projects for the School of Pharmacy & Health Professions.  Dr. Goulet is the point of contact within the SPAHP for all International Outreach activities through OISSE. She will be working closely with Drs. Ivelisse Lazzarini & Alicia Vanden Bosch, directors of the occupational therapy & pharmacy ILAC programs, to further develop & assess the international outreach activities.

In the Spring of 2005, 15 physical therapy & 7 occupational therapy students will head to the Dominican Republic representing the SPAHP commitment to the people of the Dominican Republic along with the Institute of Latin American Concern. Dr. Goulet, assisted by Julie Ekstrum, PT, & 4 licensed physical therapists will lead the physical therapy students in providing clinical services to underserved communities across 7 clinical sites. Dr. Ivelisse Lazzarini, with the help of Dr. Brian Jimenez, will lead the occupational therapy group which has not participated in the DR program for 3 years. Both groups will spend 4 weeks doing service & cultural immersion activities.

In the Summer of 2005, Dr. Vanden Bosch will lead 12 pharmacy students, twice as many as previous years, in the ILAC Summer Program.

If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Goulet at cgoulet@creighton.edu. For more information visit OISSE website at: http://oisse.creighton.edu            

OISSE Unveils New Website

On April 30, 2005, the Office of Interprofessional Scholarship, Service & Education will unveil a brand new website. This website was developed as a part of the strategic plan for the Office to increase marketing & development.

The OISSE website offers many benefits to those involved in community engagement or for those just interested in learning more about community outreach within the SPAHP.

The website features current events for the Local & International Outreach, along with how to become involved. Applications for the International Outreach are available.

On-line learning modules are available on diabetes, program development, substance abuse, & more. These modules are available for university & public use.

The website also gives a history of previous community engagement activities & summaries of grant funding supporting these programs.

OISSE would like to thank Arvind Jagannathan in OITLR for the development of this website. Please check our website for upcoming events & community engagement activities. Check it out at: http://oisse.creighton.edu  

Med Students Visit Reservations

In March 2005, 10 second-year medical students visited the reservations as part of a class project. The students were required to get a feel for the health disparities existent on the reservations. Students interviewed multiple health professionals at each site & visited both the Winnebago Hospital & the Carl T. Curtis Health Education Center. 

OISSE Retreat

On Friday March 11, 2005,  faculty & practitioners involved with OISSE gathered at the Center for Health Policy & Ethics to begin strategic planning. The group was lead by Gretchen Finke Patras who helped OISSE explore development & growth.

In October 2004, the International Outreach to the Dominican Republic was added to OISSE. This has forced a restructuring of the Office molding it to house  community engagement projects across the School of Pharmacy & Health Professions.

OISSE has also been challenged with the task of facilitating the bridge between academia & practice providing students with real-life interprofessional clinical situations.

Although the Native American Outreach has a 10-year history, OISSE is exploring the expansion of community engagement for professional students in pharmacy, nursing, medicine, occupational therapy, & physical therapy.

Student Training

Since Fall 2004, OISSE has offered three 30-hour short-term intensive experiences at the Omaha & Winnebago reservations. Twenty-one students from pharmacy, nursing, physical therapy & occupational therapy have participated in the interprofessional experiences. These experiences mix cultural awareness, interprofessional training, clinical observation, & service projects over 3 Fridays.

The first day of each experience includes meeting with health professionals & exploring the role of each profession in the Native American health care system. Students also receive cultural awareness training & complete an interprofessional case study lead by faculty.

The second day students learn about the culture by playing traditional hand games with Native American high school students lead by language & culture instructor, Vida Stabler. Students also eat traditional foods served at the local senior center. For an afternoon, students break off into their prospective disciplines & engage in clinical observation at the Carl T. Curtis Health Education Center.

The last day of each experience is spent completing a service project to give back to the community & to address health disparities on the reservation.

In November 2004, students participated in the Healthy Thanksgiving Fair providing screenings for blood glucose, blood pressure, balance & sensation to 30 tribal members as a part of the Diabetes Program.

Students participating in the February 2005 experience completed the check-in & led groups of students from each school through the booths at the Neuro-Occupation Expo.

In March 2005, students educated Native American high school students participating in the 9th Annual Native American Retreat about each health profession. The Native American students choose the Health Professions track & hope to pursue a health profession in college.

OISSE will be offering 4 short-term experiences each year as funded by HRSA Grant #: 1 D36HPO3158 Circles of Learning through June 2007. Two students from each health profession can participate on a first come, first serve basis. Contact OISSE to participate at 402-280-5258.

Neuro-Occupation Expo

In the early morning on February 11, 2005, approximately 70 OTD students climbed in cars & on a chartered bus to head to Macy, Nebraska. Over the fall & spring semester, the students worked together in groups preparing 16 interactive booths geared toward educating Native American sixth graders on the brain and the affects of substance abuse on the brain.

These projects were facilitated as a class project by Dr. Ivelisse Lazzarini in collaboration with Dr. Brian Jimenez. Students were required to choose a part of the brain & conduct an evidence-based meta-analysis of that brain structure. Then the students explored how substance abuse affects that area of the brain. The students were then tasked with creating a fun, interactive booth to educate sixth graders about their chosen brain structure.

In December 2004, the students piloted the projects receiving feedback on age appropriateness & culturally relevant aspects of their projects.

In February, the OTD students presented the projects to 83 Native American sixth graders & their teachers from 4 local schools. Feedback from the event was extremely positive.

In the future, the coordinators of the project hope to expand to include physical therapy & pharmacy students. OISSE is proud to have helped support & coordinate this successful event. To participate next year, contact Dr. Lazzarini at ilazzarini@creighton.edu or Joy at joyvoltz@creighton.edu. 

International Student SpotLight: Brandy Bush 

Brandy Bush, a 1st year OTD student from Kansas City & Creighton basketball player, will be participating in the occupational therapy Dominican Republic trip in May 2005.

Brandy shares her excitement about the trip, “I have always wanted to volunteer but playing basketball at Creighton limits what I am able to do. I chose the Dominican Republic experience because I wanted to volunteer. The experience will allow me to get out of my comfort zone while learning about another culture & occupational therapy, all at the same time. I also hope to work on my Spanish skills.

I think this experience will prepare me as an occupational therapist to be more knowledgeable about people different from myself making me more aware of my actions around people of different cultural backgrounds. I also think it will improve my communication skills with clients I will have in the future.

As a freshman in high school, I was attracted to occupational therapy because it allows me to be creative. I look forward to using those skills in my experience in the Dominican Republic.”

Brandy is one of 7 OTD students lead by Dr. Ivelisse Lazzarini & Dr. Brian Jimenez to the Dominican Republic this summer. Please visit http://oisse.creighton.edu for more information.

Local Outreach Student SpotLight: William Arnold

William Arnold, 4th year web-based Pharmacy student, participated in a short term experience in Fall 2004. 

William shares about his experience: “During the short term experience, I participated in community education, assisting in a health fair providing glucometer readings. During that experience, I discovered another opportunity to serve. With the assistance of Dr. Boyd, I revamped the on-line module on diabetes serving as an orientation teaching tool for students participating in such experiences.

We had 2 major project goals in mind. 1. To make the diabetes module more culturally sensitive & 2.Create an interdisciplinary focus for all health care students.  I researched Native American diet & lifestyle, & how they relate to the treatment for diabetes as approached by PT, OT, nurses, pharmacists, & physicians.

On the Omaha reservation, the only groceries are commodities or items at a convenience store limited to snacks like chips & soda. I explored food options available to the people,  interviewing several seniors to explore traditional foods.  Then I integrated this information into the module.

The module now guides students to focus on culture & provides representation of the communities’ current public health issues.”

William can be reached at warnold@creighton.edu

The module is available at http://oisse.creighton.edu entitled Diabetes Mellitus.

Creighton Receives IHS Contract 

In February 2005, Creighton University Medical Center School of Pharmacy & Health Professions was awarded a 5-year contract with Indian Health Service for provision of physical & occupational therapy at the Winnebago Hospital in Winnebago, Nebraska.

Indian Health Service constructed a new hospital in 2004 providing a large therapy room for increased service delivery. The hospital site serves both the Winnebago & Omaha Tribes of Nebraska.

Therapy services include inpatient, outpatient, & home health services. Sophia Chao, DPT, PT provides full time physical therapy services while Reva Fredericksen, OTR/L, provides occupational therapy services twice a week. The contract also provides for clerical staff for the therapy team who will be a tribal member.

Therapy is also active in the Winnebago Hospital Employee Wellness Program providing ergonomic assessments to employees & daily classes including weight training, Yoga, & Pilates.

To visit the site, contact Kate at Katemartensstricklett@creighton.edu or 402-280-5258.

Community & Clinic Update

·  Since January 2005, 130 students from pharmacy, nursing, medicine, OT & PT have received training & served 2323 hours on the reservations.

· The Winnebago Hospital Rehabilitation Department has received $6000 worth of rehab equipment from Aberdeen Indian Health Service.

· Since July 2004, the Carl T. Curtis Health Education Center has increased in physical therapy visits by 65%.

· Patrick Cross, DPT, PT provides athletic training for UnOmaha Public Schools sporting events including football, basketball & track. PT students can volunteer. Contact OISSE to assist.