OVERVIEW OF PROJECT:
Allegany College of Maryland (ACM), a two-year community college
located in the low income, Appalachian region of Maryland, is
requesting a three year grant totaling $513,970 to fund the
Integrative Health Core Curriculum Project (IHCCP).The goal
of the grant is to create an evidenced-based core curriculum
which will serve as a national model for associate degree allied
health programs interested in redesigning curriculum on an integrative
paradigm. This paradigm values the contributions of traditional
health care, evidenced-based complimentary approaches and self
care. Special emphasis is placed on whole person (mind/body/spirit)
care, and the use of interdisciplinary allied health care teams
empowered by the advances of science and medicine and the healing
power of relationships.
This model will identify core competencies in integrative
health that all allied health graduates will acquire. Instead
of developing new or specialized courses, the core competencies
will be infused into existing required clinical courses. This
approach takes into account the special challenges of associate
degree allied health programs (credit limitations, accreditation
constraints, etc.). The IHCCP insures that students in two-year
allied health programs are knowledgeable about and skilled in
evidence-based, integrative health care practice, and that disadvantaged,
minority, and rural populations traditionally served by community
colleges have access to the latest advances in health care education
and practice currently offered in major medical and academic centers.
A Project Advisory Board (PAB), composed of nationally
known allied health and health care professionals with expertise
in the use of interdisciplinary health care teams, relationship-centered
care, mind/body skills, and the special needs of allied health
curriculum development, will guide the development of a faculty/curriculum
development process and an integrative health core curriculum
appropriate to the special needs of associate level programs.
All nine of ACM's allied health program directors have committed
to participate: occupational therapy assistant, physical therapist
assistant, medical assistant, human service, radiology technology,
medical laboratory technology, dental hygiene, therapeutic massage,
and respiratory therapist. In the first phase of the project,
21 allied health faculty will complete a minimum of 15 hours training
on the latest scientific findings regarding relationship centered
care, wellness, the science of mind/body healing; and the use
of interdisciplinary teams to deliver whole person care. Building
on this framework, faculty will work in interdisciplinary faculty
teams to design ten learning modules. Each module will identify
core competencies, learning content and activities, assessment
methods, reference materials, and suggestions for interdisciplinary
skill development. To provide students with experience in the
interdisciplinary delivery of integrative health services, faculty
will collaborate with health providers to develop clinical sites
that can impact students and consumers in medically underserved
areas. Particular attention will be paid to the utilization of
mind/body approaches as part of evidence-based medical care for
chronic or long-term illnesses such as diabetes, asthma, cancer,
and depression.
Project guidebooks will be disseminated, one on
the curriculum development process and one on the core curriculum
modules. Each guidebook will also offer interactive web based
lectures and presentations on how to incorporate the modules and
process into allied health programs.
PROBLEM STATEMENT:
The IHCCP was designed to address five critical needs:
The lack of a model integrative health curriculum for associate
degree allied health programs comparable to those already
developed at medical and four year schools;
The lack of training resources and release time essential
for faculty to make the paradigm shift from a biomedical model
to an integrative, whole person model of care;
The need to identify integrative health core knowledge/skills
appropriate to the allied health scope of practice, with specific
emphasis given to developing competency in relationship-centered
care, the use of evidence-based mind/body skills for stress
reduction, and the management of chronic illness;
The need for students to transcend the conventional, discipline
specific methods of practice through involvement in interdisciplinary
teams providing whole person care;
The high stress rate in allied health students due to challenging
coursework, unhealthy lifestyles, family demands, low income,
and inadequate support
OBJECTIVES:
The specific objectives of the IHCCP are:
to design and evaluate an interdisciplinary, relationship
centered process, structure, and environment for curriculum/faculty
development that enables faculty and clinical programs to
make the transition from a biomedical model to an integrative,
whole person model.
to develop and evaluate a nationally relevant, module based
integrative health core curriculum and clinical training program
which addresses the special needs of associate level degree
programs while preparing students to work in interdisciplinary
teams to deliver relationship centered, whole person (mind/body/spirit)
care.
to design interdisciplinary learning strategies which develop
skills and attitudes in personal and workforce wellness, enabling
faculty and students to reduce stress and serve as role models
for healthy self-care.
to partner with health providers to develop integrative health/wellness
clinical training rotations where students can observe and/or
participate in interdisciplinary teams that use evidenced
based mind/body approaches to address chronic or long-term
illness.
to nationally disseminate the model process and core curriculum
to other
community colleges with associate degree allied health programs
and to create a
mechanism for ongoing dialogue about best practices in integrative
health education.
