MEETING THE WORLD’S HEALTHCARE NEEDS

Preparing future healthcare professionals through innovative learning in state-of-the-art facilities

BY KIRSTEN STAVE ’18 AND CANDACE HARMON

As healthcare graduates enter an exhausted workforce, it is vital they are prepared to deliver adept patient care. Health professions education must produce proficient and poised practitioners who are ready. Students benefiting from immersive learning experiences in the Sanford Heimarck School of Health Professions will be prepared.

“Collaboration of students within the Sanford Heimarck School of Health Professions provides a unique opportunity for students across disciplines to participate in interdisciplinary coursework that also includes a leadership focus,” says Tiffany Lawrence, president and CEO of Sanford Medical Center Fargo.

Interdisciplinary Case Studies

For almost a decade, Concordia students from all health professions have been invited to collaborate on a team to solve a “real life” health scenario. Concordia’s interdisciplinary case studies simulate real-world models of how to approach a patient’s care by using feedback from different disciplines.

When students from nursing, exercise science, nutrition, healthcare leadership, social work, and education work together, they learn how teams collaborate in the real world. As they become comfortable, they will learn to listen and prioritize care.

“The opportunity to take part in these interdisciplinary case studies was one of the factors that informed my college decision,” says Nicole Fornshell ’24, a social work major. “Students from each discipline only receive information pertinent to their discipline, which ensures that students must rely on each other to communicate and learn information that other students, or care providers, have access to – similar to the real world.”

Exceptional Care in the Heimarck Center

The Heimarck Center will provide students with an interprofessional, interdisciplinary, team-based setting every day. Currently under construction on the corner of 12th Avenue and 8th Street South, the center will be the collective home for Concordia’s pre-health professions programs.

The simulated approach to health professsions education places patient safety at its core via team training. Through observational, hands-on, and repeated learning, students become comfortable in the environment they will practice in.

“Simulation provides students with even more critical training that enhances the bedside training experience, as well as playing a key role in new services such as telehealth virtual care,” Lawrence says.

Interprofessional, interdisciplinary, and teambased in-the-moment learning expedites new practitioners’ transition to in-the-field care. Mark Sannes ’94, M.D., co-executive medical director of HealthPartners Care Group, says that simulation and telehealth options have elevated the traditional learning model.

“Whereas an individual might have seen an unusual presentation or performed a rare procedure once or twice in their healthcare training in prior years, these new learning approaches allow for trainees to join the workforce better prepared than their predecessors,” Sannes says.

Within the Heimarck Center will be a nutrition assessment lab, counseling space, exam rooms, and cutting-edge tools, such as Bod Pods, which use air displacement to determine a person’s percentage of lean mass versus body fat.

“It’s common among elite, professional athletes,” says Dr. Meredith Wagner ’05, chair of nutrition, dietetics, and exercise science. “Major research universities will have Bod Pods, but there are not many private colleges that have equipment of this caliber so it’s unique to Concordia.”

Innovative teaching spaces, such as the high-fidelity simulation labs, will allow students to develop hands-on skills in a replicated hospital setting by using computerized manikins (medical-training mannequins). With one-way windows, professors can observe students in action.

“We don’t interact much because we expect the students to be acting as if it’s a real hospital room,” says Gwen Wagstrom Halaas ’75, M.D., dean of the Sanford Heimarck School of Health Professions. “But we’re there, and it’s a safe space for them to make mistakes and learn.”

The observation rooms will also be used for students learning to conduct increasingly important telehealth visits as well as home visits.

“My head is spinning thinking of all the ways we can practice social work home visits,” says Kelli Gast ’02, assistant professor of social work. “It takes time to get good at those visits. This will be perfect for students.”

Dr. Emily Huber-Johnson, the exercise science program director, was impressed by the significant expansion of the new human performance lab under construction.

“We will be able to be more of a ‘fly on the wall’ and have our students practice in a more realistic setting,” she says. “We can coach them so they will gain confidence for when they have to do the real thing.”

It Takes a Team

Given the complexity of today’s world, the critical thinking and problem solving necessary in health professions work requires interdisciplinary understanding and humble deference to partner providers’ knowledge. Graduates will be confident in their abilities to work as part of a professional team and understand the value of collaboration.

“An interprofessional approach aligns with the needs of our patients and will provide the best care possible as the health complexity of our patients continues to increase,” Lawrence says. “Sanford Health is excited to partner with the Sanford Heimarck School of Health Professions that will impact patient care into the future.”

The Heimarck Center is scheduled to open for the Fall 2023 semester.