Engage-IL Prepares Interprofessional Student Scholars and Leaders to Improve Older Adult Health
Scholars and Leaders in Interprofessional Geriatrics Program
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
Goal: To enable health science students who are interested in geriatrics to acquire attitudes, values and competencies necessary for practicing comprehensive, patient- and family-centered geriatric care, as part of interprofessional teams, in a variety of health care settings. The SLIG course is designed to provide a rich learning experience for health science students with mentoring and guidance by interprofessional faculty. At the heart of this course is active, experiential learning with discussion and reflection on the unique qualities and needs of older adults across life phases in a variety of care settings. The teaching and learning focus on how an integrated team of interprofessional practitioners can optimize the health, well-being and quality of life of older adults.
Learners: Students from the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine (COM), College of Nursing (CON), College of Pharmacy (COP), College of Applied Health Sciences (AHS), School of Public Health (SPH), and Jane Addams College of Social Work (JACSW), who are in good academic standing, are eligible to apply. Two students will be selected from each profession for a total of 12 scholars. One additional medical student will be selected from the College of Medicine to receive the Dr. Akavut Suesakul, MD Scholarship in Primary Care Geriatrics.
Course Dates: The six-week SLIG course will take place from Tuesday, June 22nd, 2021 to Friday, July 30th, 2021. The course will meet virtually 2-3 days per week. The class will typically held on Tuesdays and Thursdays, however exact days/dates/times are determined by the availability of our community partners and scheduled holidays. Hence, during certain weeks the class may meet on days other than Tuesday and Thursday. The class typically meets from 9:30 am – 2:30 pm; students should plan for an additional time to work on course assignments.
Expectations and Time Commitment: Students will meet virtually on the scheduled class days and will have an estimated equivalent amount of preparatory and reflective work each week. Preparatory work may include completing assigned readings, watching online video modules on topics pertaining to practice in geriatrics, preparing for in-class discussions and activities, preparing and writing a final paper and presentation for the “SLIG Showcase” scheduled at the end of the course. Students will be asked to keep their schedules open during weekdays between 9 am and 5 pm from June 22 to July 30 because the course schedules are based on community partners and faculty availability and are therefore subject to change. Absences will be excused only for health and other serious reasons. Please note that after each session you will be asked to complete a brief evaluation of the session. Completing the session evaluations is a SLIG course requirement.
Learning Activities: Interprofessional learning experiences in the SLIG course typically include both experiential learning and didactic learning. The experiential learning is in collaboration with our community partners in a variety of care settings, ranging from home-based care and inpatient rehabilitation to hospice care. Due to the special circumstances around COVID-19 pandemic, in-person visits to the community clinic sites will not be a part of the 2021 SLIG course; instead our partners from a variety of care settings will deliver online talks and presentations. We will also be highlighting interprofessional work in geriatrics associated with COVID-19 issues for older adults.
Didactic training will include class sessions as well as self-study of course readings and online educational modules on topics pertaining to interprofessional geriatric practice created by the ENGAGE-IL team. Together, the experiential and didactic learning components address the continuum of care of older adults, including the trajectory of illness, at different levels and transitions of care.
Each SLIG Scholar will research and develop a scholarly paper which will be presented by scholars at an end of program at the SLIG Showcase.
Stipend: $2,000* will be awarded to each scholar who successfully completes the program.
Eligibility Criteria: Health science students in the AHS, COM, CON, COP, JACSW and SPH who are in good academic standing per participating schools/colleges, are eligible to apply.
AHS students who meet the additional criteria described below are eligible:
For the Department of Occupational Therapy
- Graduate students who are licensed occupational therapists (e.g., post professional OTD students, PhD students)
- Note: Due to schedule conflicts involving required courses and fieldwork, students enrolled in the entry-level (MS) OT program are not eligible
For the Department of Physical Therapy
- Graduates of the entry-level Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) professional program
- Note: Due to schedule conflicts involving required courses and fieldwork, students enrolled in the DPT program are not eligible
- Graduate students who are licensed physical therapists (e.g. PhD students, MS in Rehabilitation Science students) in the U.S. or another country.
For the Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition
- Students enrolled in their first year of the MS CP in Nutrition Program
- Graduate students who are licensed as RDs/RDNs (e.g., MS and PhD Students)
COM students, rising M2 students who have completed their M1 course work successfully are eligible
CON students, only graduate students are eligible
COP students, P2 students are eligible
JACSW students, only graduate students are eligible
SPH students, MPH and MHA students are eligible
Application & Selection Process & Dates:
- Scholarship application submission deadline: January 29, 2021
- Notification to selected Scholars: March 2021
Applicants must complete the Program Application (Appendix A) and submit it by January 29, 2021 to engageil@engageil.com
Applications will be reviewed and scored by a Selection Committee (Appendix B, Application review criteria). Two students from each of the six participating professions will be selected. An additional one medical student will be selected for The Dr. Akavut Suesakul Memorial Scholarship in Primary Care Geriatrics (see Appendix C for details).
The decision of the Selection Committee will be communicated to applicants by March 2021.
*Rules and regulations for receiving stipend:
Current HRSA Federal Grant (# U1QHP28730) stipend restrictions for Summer Scholars include:
- If a student receives federal loans, the stipend may be applied to his/her student loan instead of being disbursed directly to the student.
- Stipends will be disbursed into students’ UIC accounts, not directly disbursed to students. To learn more please visit http://financialaid.uic.edu/scholarships.shtml
- If a student is a Foreign National, existing federal HRSA grant restrictions do not allow stipend payments, however, students are able to participate in the program without receiving the stipend.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Scholars who are selected and agree to participate in the SLIG program will be required to fulfill their commitment and learning agreement. Declining to participate in the program after acceptance creates substantial logistic challenges for the organizers and also takes away the scholarship opportunity from other potential candidates.
Attendance: Students will be asked to participate in all scheduled course activities and keep their schedules open weekdays between 9 am and 5 pm from June 22 to July 30, 2021. The course scheduled activities are based on community partners and faculty availability and are subject to change. Absences will be excused only for health and other serious reasons.
Course Evaluations: Please note that after each session students will be asked to complete a brief evaluation of the session. Completing the session evaluations is a requirement of the SLIG Course. Please consider applying for this scholarship only if you are able to comply with the above program requirements.
Funding: This program is funded by a federal grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Grant #U1QHP28730.
The Dr. Akavut Suesakul Memorial Scholarship in Primary Care Geriatrics is funded by the UIC COM Department of Family Medicine.
Please click the following button to access
the 2021 Student Scholars and Leaders in Interprofessional Geriatrics Program Application:
Questions? Contact the Program Coordinator at engageIL@engageil.com
| Core Fellowship Co-Directors | |
| Valerie Gruss, PhD, APN, CNP-BC, FAAN Clinical Assistant Professor Department of Biobehavioral Nursing Science Institute for Healthcare Innovation College of Nursing, UIC vgruss@uic.edu |
Memoona Hasnain, MD, MHPE, PhD Associate Professor Professor and Interim Head Department of Family & Community Medicine College of Medicine, UIC memoona@uic.edu |
| Fellowship Faculty | ||
| College | Faculty | Contact |
| Applied Health Sciences | Elizabeth Peterson, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA | epeterso@uic.edu |
| Medicine & Public Health | Memoona Hasnain, MD, MHPE, PhD | memoona@uic.edu |
| Nursing | Valerie Gruss, PhD, APN, CNP-BC, FAAN | vgruss@uic.edu |
| Pharmacy | Michael Koronkowski,PharmD, BCGP | koron@uic.edu |
Staff
Asad Zahir
Course Coordinator
azahir@uic.edu
Kanwal Haque, MPH
Research Associate
khaque2@uic.edu