The members of the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) gathered for the annual Health Sciences Showcase on Friday, June 24, but this year was different: each department, as well as the IMPACT initiative, presented a video of accomplishments, ongoing research and interprofessional efforts, and publications.
“This is a celebration of everything within Health Sciences programs, within all the departments, faculty, staff, researchers, everything that we all help make happen,” explained Laurie Lyons, M.A., director of instructional design and technology with the IMPACT initiative.
The Physician Assistant (PA) program, for example, detailed statistics on program candidates and admitted students, faculty members’ research interests, and the successful roll-out of the newly revised curriculum, including new courses.
“[Introduction to Professional Practice (IPP)] is designed to enhance students’ knowledge about clinical practice issues that they’ll face once they graduate, and [it] helps them to transition from student to professional in a more seamless fashion,” explained Dee Dee Herrmann, M.A. ’01, IPP course director and assistant professor of PA studies at SMHS, during the PA video.
The Physical Therapy program boasted significant developments in interprofessional efforts and international coursework, welcomed new faculty members, and published several peer-reviewed articles. The program also opened a new exercise physiology lab, and PT students performed more than 1,000 hours of community service.
The Clinical Research and Leadership (CRL) Department, which has several programming changes planned, has increased outreach with the its military programs and is planning to launch new programs, including the Ph.D. in Translational Health Sciences, in the fall of 2016. Additionally, the department received several grant proposals, prioritized both internal and external collaborations, and started the Ozgur Ekmekci Interprofessional Leadership Award; Ekmekci, Ed.D., former interim chair and associate professor of the Department of Clinical Research and Leadership at SMHS, passed away in 2015.
The IMPACT (Instructional Media and Programming to Advance Collaboration and Teaching) initiative, launched in 2012, is developing online training for a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services-funded research project that focuses on testing experience and functional tools. The initiative highlighted efforts in distance and online learning, such as virtual labs, and collaborative research, as well.
In addition to the video presentations, the showcase featured tabletop presentations and faculty inductions into the Alpha Eta Society, as well as a special treat: cupcakes.
