Interprofessional Education

Having just returned from a trip to Singapore, China and Korea not only am I a bit jet-lagged but I'm also filled with many ideas on how we can capitalize on the great expertise we have at Salus to assist our Asian colleagues in advancing their professions. In Korea, for instance, there was a great deal of interest in both our optometry and occupational therapy programs. Optometry and occupational therapy is not practiced to the same level it is in the U.S. and those countries don't currently have the educational system in place to facilitate that. We have been extremely successful in bolstering optometric education in Europe, Israel, Scandinavia and Singapore by providing a master's level course in optometric practice. This has enabled these providers to practice at a much higher level than their legacy training provided them, which was often at the baccalaureate level.  We can do the same thing in Korea and potentially in China. I think these countries offer us opportunities to, once again, lead the way in increasing the scope of practice by providing a solid educational base to build upon. One other thought I'd like for all of you to ponder.  While I was overseas I thought about the interprofessional education we're providing and the interdisciplinary practice opportunities many of our students are afforded through their externships and other clinical rotations.  It may be time we start thinking about tweaking our international outreach model from one of a single profession to one that provides multidisciplinary care, thus leveraging all those great experiences our students are getting.  SOSH, for instance may evolve into SHSH - Student's Health Services to Humanity. Why not?  We work in an integrated health system so why not practice it?  Think about it. Salus students, I solicit your comments on this!  More to come......