NSUCO - The Visionary Spring 2012

THE V ISIONARY • S PRING 2012 — 3 CHANCELLOR’S COMMUNIQUÉ As we once again approach graduation season, I can’t help but think about our perpetual need to review and modify an action plan that creates positive enhancements in our curriculum and program presentation for the student body. To put it simply, the days of creating solid-wall in- stitutions that have no cracks and are impervi- ous to change are over. One only has to look at health care reform or the various health profession admission tests such as the MCAT (medicine), OAT (optome- try), PCAT (pharmacy), or DAT (dental) to realize our nation’s health care paradigm is un- dergoing a significant metamorphosis. There’s clearly a resultant change in all these national testing units to seek out not only science-based knowledge, but also human-based information that comes from the study of society, culture, and the arts, which makes for more commu- nicative health professions. As an example, beginning in 2015, the newMCAT examwill include a section on the psychological, social, and biological sciences foundational to the concepts new physicians will need to practice in a rapidly changing health care system. Under the changes approved in February 2012 by the Association of American Medical Colleges’ Board of Directors, the exam will also include updated science sections and a new section on critical analysis and reasoning skills that will require students to analyze information in passages from a wide range of social sciences and humanities disciplines, including ethics and philosophy, cross-cultural studies, and population health. In regard to the various Health Professions Divi- sion colleges, we have not only expanded our re- sponsibilities to provide the applied knowledge of the scientific and health care community, but to also reference it in regard to the interaction be- tween the patient and health care professional. When our graduates receive their diplomas and move on to their individual career goals as li- censed health care professionals, we can take pride in knowing we have done our best to pro- vide them with opportunities to work with the most cutting-edge technology available in the clinical environment while also instilling in them the humanity of their profession. As health care professions evolve, patients are making it known that a return to a more com- passionate and humanistic style of care is what they desire—and demand—when it comes to the patient-physician relationship. At NSU’s Health Professions Division, our focus is not re- stricted to training our students to become high- tech, high-quality clinicians and diagnosticians who provide tertiary facility-linked care. While the attainment of the aforementioned abilities is vitally important, it’s just as imperative for our students to understand the importance of effec- tively communicating with their future patients. Because of the increased demand for health care professionals to possess effective and collabo- rative communication skills, the colleges and programs housed within NSU’s Health Profes- sions Division are positively responding to this charge. For example, in order for students to earn acceptance into the College of Pharmacy, one of the prerequisites is that they completed a course in communications in their undergrad- uate studies. Similarly, in the College of Osteopathic Medicine, several communications-based programs have been implemented to enhance these skills for students as well as administrators and faculty and staff members. From a student standpoint, the college implemented the Art Observation Pilot Program in 2011, which is designed to im- prove students’ observational skills. Equally as laudable are the leadership and professionalism classes designed and taught by Dr. Elaine Wal- lace, which provide students, administrators, and faculty and staff members with an opportu- nity to become more effective communicators and learners. One of the primary challenges future graduates will face as they enter their professions is that from a communications perspective, so much has changed within the eight-year or so span of time it took for them to earn their D.O., O.D., or other health professions-related degrees. In my opinion, thanks to the recent advent of social media, we as a society have tended to focus less on our verbal communication skills as we in- creasingly rely on more impersonal electronic devices to share information. I truly believe this poses a challenge to our health care profession- als because most people utilizing primary health care services today are in the second stage of their lives—the baby boomers over the age of 60 who are not cyberphobes but are certainly not cyberphiles. The majority of baby boomers learned to communicate verbally and not through Facebook, Twitter, iPads, iPhones, and other devices. When I tape a segment of our TV program Date- line Health , I always look into the camera and im- plore the viewers to talk to their health care professionals and verbally share with themwhat type of over-the-counter medications and nutri- tional supplements they are taking. Today’s communications technology truly is in- credible in terms of its scope, capabilities, and efficiencies; however, it’s important for all of us to remember that nothing replaces the merits of verbal, face-to-face communication. A Message from the Health Professions Division Chancellor Frederick Lippman, R.Ph., Ed.D. At NSU’s Health Professions Division, our focus is not restricted to training our students to become high-tech, high-quality clinicians and diagnosticians who provide tertiary facility-linked care. “ “