Career tracks can be diverse
gerontology track for future nurse practitioners at MGH IHP, which includes specializations in primary care, acute care and women’s health. Managing the health care of older patients requires specialized skills, which students acquire at MGH IHP through an exposure to a variety of clinical settings.
Nurse practitioners hold an advanced degree and are tasked with much more than providing care. Instead they manage care in an increasingly complex system that includes many other health care professionals, including doctors, occupational therapists, hearing specialists and more. At MGH IHP, this means that advanced education must include experience working crossfunctionally. “Students who come into the program, no matter what track they’re in, in the first year, they’re learning how to work together as a team. There are different competencies like teamwork, learning roles and responsibilities, and values and ethics within the health care system,” said Reidy. “Because we all have to work in teams, we don’t work in isolation, we have to work together. Our IMPACT Practice Center provides clinical experiences where students are observing or working with a patient that has other needs, so two disciplines are providing a plan of care.”
Reidy’s own experience, as a veteran practicing clinician in her own right, echoes this interdisciplinary approach. “I work with physicians, I work with social workers and counselors, and you need to work
with your counterparts to understand the goal for the patient.” For MGH IHP, this is woven into every part of the curriculum as a better way to provide care.
Over at the University of Massachu- setts Boston, the College of Nursing and Health Sciences is focused on health equity, social justice, and population- based health.
As one of Boston’s most diverse student body, the college seeks to educate health professionals to serve communities as diverse as its students.
“At UMass Boston, our focus is to also look at how to reduce health care disparity, how to create a culture of health, with a focus on social justice,” said Linda Thompson, dean of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences. “Teaching students how to care for people is not just about health issues, but also where they live, social determinants of health; all of these impact their health care.” Health equity is embedded into the curriculum and in every course taught, and students are exposed to a variety of health care settings, including underserved communities. The goal is to meet patients where they are, literally and culturally. “Our students are looking at the
The goal is to meet patients where they are, literally and culturally.
culture and understanding how to work with people based on where they are. Curing and treating a person is more than just giving a pill or a treatment. You have to think about where they live, do they have adequate housing, transportation back and forth to care, and more,” said Thompson.
At MGH IHP and UMass Boston, Reidy and Thompson echo the need for nursing professionals who continue their development long after their classroom days are over.
“We want our students to be self-directed and motivated to learn, have great interpersonal skills with patients and classmates, and strong leadership skills so that once they get into the health care system, they’ll look to make some changes to improve processes within the health care system and continue to be lifelong learners,” Reidy said.
At UMass Boston, Thompson stressed the need to stay current on new approaches to providing, monitoring and managing care, including new technology, as well as the importance of a nurse’s role as health care “coach” using motivational interviewing skills. “Teaching people how to continue to learn, how to seek out information and how to use research and evidence in their practice. That’s one thing we really stress, is making sure we that our graduates understand the science.”
The final incentive for providing the best education to future nurses and advanced nurse practitioners? “It’s wonderful to mentor the next generation of clinicians,” Reidy said. “They’re going to be my colleagues.”
And our nurse.