IHAPAE: An Examination of Physician Assistant Students and Medical Humanities in the Context of a Pandemic
Abstract
Medical providers with good communication skills, empathy, compassion, and resilience deliver improved patient outcomes. The introduction of humanities and arts, which fosters these skills, into provider education is an emerging area of scholarship.The Interdisciplinary Humanities and Arts in Physician Assistant Education (IHAPAE) project engages in this vital work, through an intercampus
collaboration of faculty members from UNO, UNMC, and UNK, led by Physician Assistant (PA) faculty. IHAPAE brings together faculty experts in the arts, humanities, social sciences, nursing, and PA education. In spring 2021, we piloted the creation and delivery of eight innovative educational modules for two PA health communication courses. We assessed effectiveness using a mixed methods approach consisting of validated scales in pre and post surveys, and focus group interviews with all student participants. After triangulating our results, the modules look promising for shifting PA
awareness and skills, despite the pilot occurring during pandemic-driven fluctuation in course delivery.To enhance our proof of concept, we need to expand data collection to include student products, deploy another round of modules, and follow our initial student cohort into their clinicaleducation and after graduation. Expanding the study requires increased in-person collaboration
IHAPAE: An Examination of Physician Assistant Students and Medical Humanities in the Context of a Pandemic
MBSC304 - U
Medical providers with good communication skills, empathy, compassion, and resilience deliver improved patient outcomes. The introduction of humanities and arts, which fosters these skills, into provider education is an emerging area of scholarship.The Interdisciplinary Humanities and Arts in Physician Assistant Education (IHAPAE) project engages in this vital work, through an intercampus
collaboration of faculty members from UNO, UNMC, and UNK, led by Physician Assistant (PA) faculty. IHAPAE brings together faculty experts in the arts, humanities, social sciences, nursing, and PA education. In spring 2021, we piloted the creation and delivery of eight innovative educational modules for two PA health communication courses. We assessed effectiveness using a mixed methods approach consisting of validated scales in pre and post surveys, and focus group interviews with all student participants. After triangulating our results, the modules look promising for shifting PA
awareness and skills, despite the pilot occurring during pandemic-driven fluctuation in course delivery.To enhance our proof of concept, we need to expand data collection to include student products, deploy another round of modules, and follow our initial student cohort into their clinicaleducation and after graduation. Expanding the study requires increased in-person collaboration