Kim Selected for National CLARION Competition on Interprofessional Collaboration
Monica Kim, DDS Candidate 2020, has been selected to represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Adams School of Dentistry at the national 2019 Interprofessional Education (IPE) CLARION Competition in April.
Her teammates include Natalie Browne from the UNC-CH Gillings School of Global Public Health, Uzma Khan from Clinical Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling, and Christine Ko from the Eshelman School of Pharmacy.
“For the second year in a row, a dental student has been chosen among many applicants to represent UNC at this national competition — a fact that demonstrates our students’ passion for interprofessional education and practice,” said Katharine Ciarrocca, DMD, MSEd, Director of Interprofessional Education and Practice at the School of Dentistry. “There is no one more dedicated to collaboration and education than Monica. We couldn’t be more proud that she was chosen for this elite competition.”
CLARION is a University of Minnesota student organization dedicated to improving health care through interprofessional collaboration. For more than 15 years, the University of Minnesota has hosted the local student case competition for health professional students, enabling them to achieve a 360-degree perspective on patient safety in today’s health care system and how it might be improved. In 2005, CLARION expanded the competition to the national level. Institutions send teams of four students from different professions, including dentistry, public health, medicine, nursing and more.
Teams are given a case and are charged with creating a root cause analysis. Each team has 20 minutes to present their analysis to a panel of interprofessional judges, where they are evaluated in the context of real world standards of practice. Three teams will be selected for shared awards – first place receives $7,500, second place receives $5,000 and third place receives $2,500. The national case competition presentations will be held Saturday, April 12, 2019.
“The future of health education encompasses all of our health professions,” said Kim. “I am so proud and happy to be surrounded by motivated and caring peers and mentors whom share a vision of how we deliver care. The future here, it is now, and it is with us.”
Kim received her Bachelor of Science in biology from UNC-Chapel Hill, where she graduated a varsity athlete, Burroughs-Wellcome Scholar and licensed educator. She earned her master’s degree in biomedical science from North Carolina State University.
She is secretary of the co-ed service fraternity, Alpha Omega, ADEA chapter president, a teaching assistant with the UNC-CH School of Medicine’s Medical Education Development Program, and a Barakat Student Ambassador. She is also a Dental Careers Fellowship Program Scholar and a Dental and Oral Health Community Scholar.
She serves as a presenter with the Town of Chapel Hill People’s Academy Scholars Program, where she engages North Carolina high school students considering a career in dentistry. As a member of the Oral Medicine Advisory Committee, Kim works with faculty and student representatives on clinical standard operating protocols for medically complex patient care. She volunteers with the Vidas de Esperanza, Dental SHAC and CAARE clinics, NC Missions of Mercy, Give Kids A Smile, Beyond Clinic Walls, and Spanish for Oral Health Professionals Association.
