Telemedicine: a Win-Win Partnership for Health Care Professions Students

Telemedicine: A Win-Win Partnership for Health Care Professions Students and Shriners Hospital Children Telemedicine is an important contributor to the delivery of health care; however, most nursing and health professions programs provide minimum instruction and practice experience for students during their programs of study. The importance of preparing students to participate in telemedicine combined with the challenges faced by members of the local Shriners organization who transported children to the Shriners hospitals for follow-up care were the basis for the forging of a partnership between the Shriners Hospitals and the College of Nursing and Health Professions. The Shriners Hospitals for Children is a health care system of 22 hospitals dedicated to improving the lives of children by providing free specialty care for children with burns, cleft palate and orthopedic conditions. Shriners members transport children and their families to specialty hospitals for follow-up assessment and treatment. Two Shriners were required for each trip and some of the trips because of distance required two days away from the area. The increased gas expenses and decreasing number of volunteer to transport the children was the incentive for local Shriners members to establish a formal partnership with the University of Southern Indiana College of Nursing and Health Professions to provide telemedicine for area children. The local Hadi Shrine members purchased the equipment and the college provided a clinic and advanced practice pediatric nurses to present the patients to the Shriners specialty hospital medical staff. Nursing faculty traveled to the Shriners hospital for training prior to the first patient presentation. A one-way observation room was built allowing students to observe and hear the patient presentations as well as participating in the telemedicine delivery. Nursing, respiratory therapist, occupational therapist and dental hygiene students have the opportunity to learn about the use of telemedicine and the roles of the respective practitioners in delivering care via telemedicine. A pre-observation module allows the students to maximize their learning during the observation and participation in the telemedicine presentation. Ongoing evaluation of the telemedicine service for children and learning outcomes indicate that the goals of the partnership have been achieved: namely, 1. Children are receiving quality care from expert practitioners; 2. Children, family and Shrine members do not have the expenses and time requirement associated with long trips to specialty hospitals; and, 3. Students in the Nursing and Health Professions Programs now have instruction, observation and participation in telemedicine. Presentation Goals: At the end of the presentation the attendees will have an: 1. Increased understanding of the use of telemedicine in today's health care system and its anticipated growth in hospitals, clinics, long-term care and patient homes 2. An appreciation for the importance of telemedicine instruction and practice for students in the health professions; 3. An understanding of the elements of the partnership that provided the college with telemedicine equipment; 4. Introduction to a model for telemedicine classroom instruction and practice for health care professionals.