National Academy of Medicine Global Forum on Innovation in Health Professional Education Workshop - April 25-27, 2018
By: Katie Eliot PhD, RDN
Back from a whirlwind few weeks of travel, I’m taking a minute to reflect on my time in Washington, DC recently. I was incredibly fortunate to serve on the planning committee for the National Academy of Medicine Global Forum on Innovation in Health Professional Education’s Workshop that happened April 25-27th. After over a year of planning, the committee pulled off a workshop that many have said was the best one yet!
The theme of the workshop was addressing stress and burnout in the health professions and focused on design thinking and a systems approach to create a health care system that takes care of patients and providers (hint: think Quadruple Aim). Here is where I’ll try to not go on too long…anyone who knows me well knows that this is a topic I am passionate about. While there isn’t a wealth of information about this topic in my field (nutrition and dietetics) other health professions are experiencing a crisis of stress and burnout and in some professions (medicine) significant rates of suicide.
Here are some highlights from the meeting:
- I was asked to present my paper “Stress and Burnout in Nutrition and Dietetics: Strengthening Interprofessional Ties” which takes a look at the issue from the perspective of a registered dietitian. I highlighted the pressure than many dietitians experience to “look the part” and fit a certain physical stereotype for a nutrition professional.
- Several experts from other professions presented unique perspectives on what stress and burnout looks like in their field (veterinary medicine had a fascinating example!)
- Recommendations were made regarding a potential interprofessional approach for accreditation standards to address student and provider well-being. I look forward to seeing what comes of this work!
But the BEST part of the entire workshop was presenting alongside my brother-in-law, Jason Eliot who is the Chief Experience and Talent Officer for Integris Health Care in Oklahoma. Jason was asked to come talk about how health care leadership acts as a buffer for stress when trying to keep patients and providers happy. He did a fantastic job of highlighting the issues while providing opportunities to develop solutions.
In all, what at amazing workshop!!
You can find the recordings to the workshop here: http://www.nationalacademies.org/hmd/Activities/Global/InnovationHealthProfEducation/2018-APR-26/Videos/Welcome/1.aspx
Join us for the next one in November looking at bridging the divide between education and practice across the health professions!
