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C3 progress focuses on preparing students by Cindy Abole Public Relations MUSC’s commitment in promoting interprofessional education continues to progress. The initiative, known as Creating Collaborative Care (C3), focuses on preparing MUSC students to be leaders and active participants of interprofessional health care teams practicing in both health care and research.   Since summer 2007, participating faculty and staff have collaborated under four working domain committees — Curricular, Extracurricular, Faculty Development and Health Care Simulation—to initiate interprofessional strategies. A first priority was to identify teamwork competencies that focused on knowledge, skills and attitudes that can contribute to a practitioner’s performance. Next, team competencies were established and a team skills curricular handbook was developed.   Planning in this process was guided by domain team leaders. Additionally, a C3 Implementation Committee was formed to guide the process and the committee includes faculty, staff, students, the assessment team, and other key C3 members.  A separate group of students, representing each of MUSC’s six colleges, make up the C3 Student Advisory Board and provides guidance and feedback.   “Both faculty and students are excited with the efforts and opportunities created to enhance and expand interprofessional education on campus,” said Amy Blue, Ph.D., assistant provost for education and C3 director.  “With so much work to do, everyone’s busy prioritizing activities and moving forward.”   Interprofessional activities are already supported in various capacities on campus: Interprofessional Day, an annual program that introduces students to the unique roles in health care; the Clarion Interprofessional Team Case Competition, a student-driven interprofessional competition that develops students in communications, leadership and teamwork; and the MUSC CARES Clinic, a student-run health care clinic that focuses on interprofessional service learning through teams committed to providing services to the medically underserved.   In 2007, MUSC received funding for an Association of Prevention Teaching and Research grant to promote an interprofessional community service learning project. Medical, health administration, physician assistant and pharmacy students have collaborated with the Junior Doctors of Health Program at Wilmot Fraser Elementary, an underserved school, in downtown Charleston. The project will soon expand statewide and partner with S.C. Area Health Education Consortium in various communities.   “Interprofessional education is part of a growing global movement in medical education,” said David Geier, M.D., director of MUSC Sports Medicine and a faculty member with the Extracurricular and Faculty Development domains for C3. “In the area of sports medicine, coordination of staff from different clinical specialties is critical to our everyday patient care. In order for interprofessional learning to be successful, it  needs to begin in medical education and how we prepare students.”   On March 28, a C3 Implementation and Domain Committees Joint Meeting was held. The event updated faculty and staff on active interprofessional activities and other insights. Participants also worked in teams to communicate and share new ideas to develop C3 goals and help measure outcomes.   Next, domain committee leaders will gather for a June 12 retreat to discuss further strategy for developing learning activities for students to interact with their peers in real-life health care delivery or research team experiences. The group will meet with members of the C3 External Advisory Board, featuring Paul Uhlig, M.D., a former MUSC Interprofessional Day speaker and authority on interprofessional collaboration who is committed to developing concepts that improve patient safety and the quality of health care in America. Other board members and consultants include John Gilbert, M.D., coordinator of Health Sciences, University of British Columbia and Barbara Brandt, Ph.D., University of Minnesota.   “One of our challenges is how best to incorporate teaching interprofessional education,” Blue said. “Our current program curricula are already so full. But we have a fantastic team of faculty-champions involved in this effort. We need to be mindful in how we introduce new concepts in our teaching curriculum while maintaining a positive synergy among all participants.”   Faculty development domain leader Mary Mauldin, Ed.D., director of the Center for Academic Research and Computing, is working with the Audio/Visual Division of Education Technology Services in producing a C3 video that will introduce key skills needed in teaching interprofessional concepts and feature examples of successful interprofessional teams and interaction on campus. The short skills video will be accessible on the C3 Web site.   Another milestone for the C3 program was establishment of its staff and offices and launch of a new Website in late March. Visitors can now access campuswide interprofessional information and projects, and C3 members can access meeting notes and agendas from each domain and implementation committee link. The C3 program office is located on the fourth floor of the Harper Student Center. The C3 team consists of Blue, David Howell, C3 program coordinator and Scotty Buff, Ph.D., director, Junior Doctors of Health program.   For information, visit http://www.musc.edu/c3.     Friday, May 16, 2008 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Island Publications at 849-1778, ext. 201.