Oral health students take advantage of IPEP experiences, opportunities
As the new school year arrived, so did new opportunities for students to grow and explore new areas of their education. One recent event offered students in the health professions, including dentistry, the chance to explore how health professions can work together, both as students and in private practice settings.
Recently, the Office of Interprofessional Education and Practice (IPEP) held an orientation event to introduce students to the program. IPEP is a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill-wide initiative that helps position UNC students at the forefront of a nation-wide movement to transform the way health professional students are trained for the workforce and care for our communities.
Jeffery Stewart, DDS, MS, helps coordinate IPEP activities for DDS and dental hygiene students.
At Adams School of Dentistry, Jeffery Stewart, DDS, MS, helps coordinate these initiatives for students pursuing dental hygiene and DDS degrees. At the recent event, titled Let’s Grow Together, students from ASOD, School of Medicine, Eshelman School of Pharmacy, School of Nursing, Gillings School of Global Public Health, as well as departments of health sciences, occupational therapy, physical therapy and movement science, all gathered together for an inclusive event.
“IPEP has created an interprofessional curriculum, and this is the first element of it, getting to know each other,” Stewart said. “Students participated in activities and programs meant to build upon each other. We take them through a journey where they learn about themselves, moving from the ‘me’ to the ‘we’ idea. It’s about developing a growth mindset; we give you skills and toolsets to be a successful student.”
Activities included rotating IPE sessions focused on different health topics, including working in rural areas, stress management and first aid, caring for yourself in a professional setting and a panel on artificial intelligence. A health connections fair allowed students to learn more about resources and opportunities to enrich their experiences as students in a health profession.
As the program progresses throughout the academic year, Stewart hopes ASOD students can easily articulate why the oral health profession is important to them.
“Our dental students will write a reflection of themselves, and write down ‘why am I doing this? Why is this important to me?’ They will come together and share with students across the board. They will start to learn about each other, and what their colleagues are thinking about, not just the profession. Hopefully, they will have very rich discussions,” Stewart said.
For oral health professions, Stewart said the struggle is the practice model, where dental practices and medical practices are separate instead of integrated into a whole health patient model.
“We’re seeing that change, and I think in the future we will move in that direction more and more,” he said. “Our students need to be prepared. Most people can have a 60-year practice life. We not only have to prepare for the near future, but set them up to learn and be able to be contributing members of a health care team well into the future.”
For more information on IPEP or becoming an IPEP Distinguished Scholar at ASOD, please contact Jeffery Stewart.
