STFM COLLABORATES WITH PAEA TO PROMOTE INTERPROFESSIONAL EDUCATION
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* Traci Nolte

The Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (STFM) and the Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA) have released a joint position paper addressing interprofessional education. “Physician assistants have a long history of collaboration with family medicine. Through this project, our primary academic organizations have created a strong framework for future interprofessional education efforts by our disciplines,” said Perry Dickinson, MD, STFM representative to the PAEA/STFM Joint Paper Workgroup.

The Joint Position Paper “Educating Primary Care Teams for the Future: Family Medicine and Physician Assistant Interprofessional Education” was published in the most recent *Journal of Physician Assistant Education* and was also featured in STFM’s President’s Column in the September issue of *Family Medicine*.

In the paper, PAEA and STFM outline how they will collaborate to develop innovative models of interprofessional health care education and serve as a unified voice to transmit the new models to a wide audience. “There is great opportunity inherent in new models of primary care that emphasize team-based care, and family medicine and physician assistant educators are ideally situated to provide leadership for educational programs that prepare health professionals to work more effectively in teams,” said Dr. Dickinson.

PAEA/STFM recommend increased educational collaboration, with an ultimate goal of expanding the availability of primary care teams who train and practice together. The organizations developed the following position statements:

1.  PAEA/STFM believe that the United States’ future primary care workforce needs are best met through the training and deployment of integrated teams of health professionals who provide and coordinate care within a patient-centered model.

2.  PAEA/STFM recommend the development and integration of new interprofessional curricula for medical and PA students and family medicine residents.

3.  PAEA/STFM recommend that medical schools, PA programs, and family medicine residencies expand the use of interprofessional clinical sites for students and residents, where they will learn how to efficiently and effectively provide patient-centered, team-based care as members of future patient-centered medical homes.

4.  PAEA/STFM encourage the development of federal and private funding sources from family medicine and PA programs to create innovative interprofessional curricula that would result in expansion and increased effectiveness of patient-centered medical homes.

5.  PAEA/STFM encourage collaboration with other health professions and disciplines to expand the scope of interprofessional team education and practice.

“The members of the PAEA/STFM Joint Position Paper workgroup valued collaboration and understood our professions’ interconnected history and shared vision for team training of future primary care clinicians. They worked hard to create a paper that reflects these concepts and to help frame the discussion for future collaboration between our 2 disciplines,” said Dave Kea-hey, MSPH, PA-C, chair of the Joint Paper Workgroup. Other members of the workgroup included: Perry Dickinson, MD; Karen Hills, MS, PA-C; Victoria Kaprielian, MD; Kevin Lohenry, PhD, PA-C; Gail Marion, PhD, PA-C; Traci Nolte, CAE; Michel Statler, MLA, PA-C; and Anne Walsh, PA-C, MMSc.

“When professions focus on their common ground—common interests, common mission, and common vision—it results in shared commitment. For STFM and PAEA, our commitment is to jointly evolve education in the name of our patients, looking at new educational models in the PCMH, clinical education, and in the classroom,” said Timi Barwick, PAEA executive director. “Our work is just beginning.”

*   © 2012 Annals of Family Medicine, Inc.