Nurses, Physicians Partner in New Program to Improve Community Health
Bringing nurse and physician scientists together to improve the health of their local communities is the focus of a new initiative of four nursing schools and four medical schools. UCLA has joined with Yale University, the University of Michigan and the University of Pennsylvania to launch the National Clinician Scholars Program, which will educate nurses and physicians to serve as leaders, researchers, and change agents in healthcare, community health, and public policy.
The innovative program was formed after the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation ended its Clinical Scholars program for physicians. The novel aspect of this new initiative is that nurse scientists, as major contributors to healthcare and health research, will partner with physicians to address and transform the health of their local communities.
“Best patient outcomes require nurses to be full partners in delivering the right care in the right settings,” said Linda Sarna, co-director of the UCLA program. “Interdisciplinary relationships among healthcare providers is the hallmark of the future in patient care.”
To identify regional health challenges, the School of Nursing and the David Geffen School of Medicine have formed a consortium of community organizations – the UCLA Southern California Clinician Leaders Program – that includes the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, Greater Los Angeles Veterans Health System, and Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, among others.
This consortium will recruit postdoctoral nurses and physicians to address challenges with the goal of eliminating health disparities in Los Angeles. Research projects undertaken through the program will take place in the community so that scholars will be able to make a meaningful impact locally even as they receive their education.
The community projects make up the core of the two-year training experience. Scholars will also take part in an innovative curriculum to build a robust set of skills in organizational and social change, applied translational research methodology, community engagement, program development and evaluation, team management, communication and leadership.