EDUCATIONAL AND TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES/RESOURCES

ACU Members Invited to Apply to Attend The Institute for Health Improvement's
2008  Learning Sessions - A Limited Number of Scholarships for Registration FeesAvailable through Kaiser Permanente

ACU is pleased to announce that Kaiser Permanente's National Community Benefit Office continues to make available a limited number of scholarships for ACU members to attend Institute for Healthcare Improvement  learning sessions including:

• New Web& ACTION, Health Literacy: New Methods for Patient Education and Self-Management Support, May 28 – June 25, 2008 will help participants develop their expertise in health literacy through process diagnostics and test-of-change exercises with patients and families in their care. National experts will share both research and front-line experience in helping caregivers in all health care settings (hospitals, office practices, home care, etc.) reduce the risks related to poor patient understanding of health care information and self-care instructions.

• Delivering Safe and Optimal Care Through Effective Teamwork and Communication, June 10-11, 2008.   This two-day seminar provides participants strategies and tools for training teams and overseeing the implementation of effective team communication. The curriculum merges leadership skills, team communication, and process improvement together to create a framework that teams can use to manage their resources wisely and improve their overall performance.

• The Achieving the Triple Aim:  the Simultaneous Pursuit of Excellent Health, Ideal Care, and Controlled Costs, June 23-24, in Washington, DC.  This ground-breaking two-day seminar will provide health care professionals with the opportunity to learn a specific framework for achieving the Triple Aim and to develop a plan for applying the framework to their own organizations.

• Engaging with Physicians in a Shared Quality Agenda, September 8-9, 2008, in Boston, MA.    This seminar focuses on how to apply concrete, practical approaches to engage physicians in the quality and safety work of the hospital or other health care system.

To learn more about these sessions click here.

Kaiser Permanente, in partnership with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), has established an endowment fund to support the participation of safety net providers in IHI seminars, fellowships and summits.  As part of that effort, Kaiser Permanente has made available scholarships for clinicians who are 2008 ACU dues paying members or for clinicians from organizations, which are current members, to participate in the IHI activities. 

ACU members are invited to apply to ACU and Kaiser Permanente for an Endowment Fund Scholarship to cover the registration fee for this meeting.  All travel and logistic support will be the responsibility of the clinicians selected to receive this scholarship.  2008 ACU members are eligible to apply to ACU.

ACU and Kaiser Permanente will review all applications and notify selected scholars.    Scholarship funds are limited for each session so apply early for this professional development opportunity.

Please contact Kathie Westpheling if you need more information. 

Application Deadlines: May12, 2008

To access the application and to learn more about the ACU Kaiser Endowed Scholarship Opportunity: Click here

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CME Invitation - Incorporating cultural and linguistic competence into the diagnosis and treatment of depression

The NCCC [ http://www11.georgetown.edu/research/gucchd/nccc ] developed
a unique approach to Continuing Medical Education (CME) to address
racial and ethnic disparities in the diagnosis and treatment of depression. The model uses self-assessment as a learning tool for providers to: (1) heighten awareness, (2) influence attitudes toward practice, and (3) motivate the development of knowledge and skills to incorporate cultural and linguistic competency into the diagnosis and treatment of depression. This CME is designed for a broad array of primary care providers that includes, but is not limited to, Family and Community Medicine, Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Internal Medicine, and Gerontology. The CME is also appropriate for psychiatrists seeking to add to their base of knowledge on cultural and linguistic competence.

A study to assess the impact and usefulness of this CME approach is underway. Please click on the following link to access the CME. ACU encourages you to forward it to other colleagues that would benefit from this CME experience. http://www.gucchdgeorgetown.net/I3D/

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

New Resource/Training Program:

The University of Pittsburgh, Graduate School of Public Health, now offers a certificate program in LGBT Health and Wellness. The program is designed for post-baccalaureate students, graduate

students, and professionals who have an interest in LGBT communities and are
seeking to develop skills necessary to effectively address LGBT health
disparities and related issues. Course work topics include the historical
development of LGBT health, a review of community-based health
interventions, and cultural competency skill development related to LGBT
health care delivery.

In addition to the certificate program, the Center for Research on Health and Sexual Orientation at the University provides students the opportunity to work in in an environment with leaders in LGBT healthcare.

For more information about the school, the certificate program, and application information, please visit

http://www.publichealth.pitt.edu/interior.php?pageID=82#5

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

11/29/07

The Centers for Disease Control's Office on Smoking and Health released a newly developed anti-smoking community outreach tool kit, called Sabemos: Por respeto - Aquí no se fuma - now available on the CDC website. The kit is designed to provide helpful tools for community leaders to heighten awareness among Hispanic/Latino parents who have recently arrived in the United States (less than two years) about secondhand smoke and how it can affect them and their children (secondhand smoke kills over 3,000 nonsmokers each year from lung cancer). The kit includes tip sheets, bi-lingual talking points, and Op-ed article and an interactive CD-ROM (in English and Spanish). You can find the tool kit at http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/secondhand_smoke/sabemos/index.htm .

11/29/07

The National Library of Medicine has released a new resource focused on dietary supplements. The Dietary Supplements Labels Database http://dietarysupplements.nlm.nih.gov includes information from the labels of over 2,000 brands of dietary supplements in the marketplace, including vitamins, minerals, herbs or other botanicals, amino acids, and other specialty supplements.

The database is designed to help both the general public and health care providers find information about ingredients in brand-name products, including name, form, active and inactive ingredients, amount of active ingredient/unit, manufacturer/distributor information, suggested dose, label claims, warnings, percentage of daily value, and further label information.

Links to other NLM resources, such as MedlinePlus and PubMed, are provided for additional health information. In addition, links to related Fact Sheets from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ( FDA), Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS), National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM ), and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) are also available.