The 2023 Innovation in Health Science Education Annual Conference, presented by the UT System Shine Academy, focused on initiatives featuring collaboration and innovation in learning opportunities in current health science education. UTHealth Houston’s Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP), Healthcare Policy for Health Professionals (HP2), was shared across three presentations over the two-day event.
A roundtable, “Healthcare Policy for Healthcare Professionals: Essential for Educational Change,” was conducted by QEP co-director and McGovern Medical School faculty member, Sandy McKay, MD, FAAP; Susan Fenton, PhD, RHIA, FAHIMA from the School of Biomedical Informatics; and Rachel Jantea, MD, MS from McGovern Medical School and the Center for Interprofessional Collaboration. The trio shared details about HP2, leading a robust discussion about the successes and challenges of developing and implementing health policy education. Some of the highlighted activities included the Virtual Interprofessional Policy Simulation (VIPS) and Advocacy Curriculum.
A poster on, “A Campus-Wide ‘Civics 101’ Learning Module for Diverse Disciplines in the Health Science,” was presented by Jessica Wise, MPH, PhD candidate (School of Public Health); Angela Gomez, EdD, MBA, MS (McGovern Center and McGovern Medical School); and Stephen Linder, PhD (School of Public Health).
Finally, Rachel Jantea, MD, MS, presented on the Virtual Interprofessional Health Policy Simulation (VIPS): An Innovative Approach to Health Policy Training for the Next Generation of Health Professionals with Angela Gomez, EdD leading the Q&A. The paper was a collaborative work among CIPC, the QEP, and multiple faculty of UTHealth Houston’s health professional schools. The VIPS was selected for a special oral presentation session alongside four innovative educational programs from other UT System institutions.