The founding meeting of the Interprofessional Student Engagement in Rural Communities (IPSER) project was held on November 27th, 2017 in Castlegar following the Alliance inaugural meeting.
The IPSER project will pilot consecutive teams of interprofessional students in 5 rural pilot sites over a 3 year period. A group of 7 Alliance partners developed the project proposal & several funding requests. The IPSER project is partially funded by the Joint Standing Committee on Rural Issues, and is actively seeking matched funding opportunities. Pilot projects are pending for the fall 2018. For more information contact: Stacey Shand, Project Manager sshand@divisionsbc.ca
Interprofessional Student Engagement in Rural Communities (IPSER) Status Report
The Interprofessional Student Engagement in Rural Communities initiative will create a program for interprofessional (medicine, nursing, social work, care aid, management, among others) student service learning centered on co-learning and co-creating solutions to community identified needs. The project will be structured around longitudinal engagement with rural communities, wherein successive teams of students will make incremental contributions in clinical, community development, and population health settings to catalyze health and social system change.
PROJECT STATUS
The IPSER team has made significant progress since receiving a $75,000 advance from the Joint Standing Committee on their original conditional funding offer of $250,000. The project is currently fundraising to seek matching funds in order to formally launch the pilot in 2018.
KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS TO DATE
Hired a Project Manager (PM)
- The IPSER PM completed a comprehensive literature review, environmental scan and key informant interview process to explore leading research, existing programs, resources and models of best practice in Interprofessional Rural Placements (IRP) to support an evidence-based approach to developing an optimal IPSER program model and a plan for project implementation.
- Held regular IPSER Project Advisory Committee (PAC) meetings
- Completed site visits to partnering PSIs
- PSIs began establishing operational teams to implement IPSER pilot
- Community Learning Practicum Inventory completed by partnering PSIs
- Developed an IPSER Pilot Site Community Selection Criteria & Process
- Researched and established inter-professional competencies for student activities within the two IPSER project streams (Clinical Placements and Community Development Placements)
- Inventory created for inter-professional student activities within project streams
- Developed a preliminary plan for a formative and summative project evaluation approach
- Online document and resource depository of IPSER project materials created and maintained to document project development
- An inventory created for IPSER community tools and resources
- Interior Health as a key resource in brokering clinical and community connections in rural pilot sites
- Completed a consultation with PSI partners on the sustainability of the originally proposed budget which resulted in a revised budget and report on sustainability
- IPSER PAC presented a funding proposal to the Ministry of Advanced Education
- Received funding from Association of Registered Nurses of British Columbia to support IPSER initiatives as it addresses their mandate focus of rural and remote Nursing
- IPSER teams are in consultation with the communities of Creston, Enderby, Trail and Merritt as pilot sites for interprofessional teams of students
- PSIs are promoting and recruiting for IPSER pilot with the goal of engaging a minimum of 4 students representing a minimum of 2 professions for Spring and/or Fall placement pilots in 2018