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Abstract Number: 907

Five-Year Evolution of the Center of Excellence in Musculoskeletal Care and Education: A National Resource for the Continuum of Health Professions Education and Scholarship

Andrea Barker1, J. Peter Beck2, Grant Cannon3, Marissa Grotzke4, Scott Swasey5,6, Curry L. Koening7, Dorota Lebiedz-Odrobina6, Yasuharu Okuda8 and Michael J. Battistone1, 1Veterans Affairs Salt Lake City Health Care System and University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, 2Orthopaedics, Salt Lake City VA Medical Center and University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, 3Salt Lake City VA Medical Center and University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, 4Division of Endocrinology, Veterans Affairs Salt Lake City Health Care System and University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, 5Salt Lake City VA Medical Center, Salt Lake City, UT, 6University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, 7Rheumatology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, 8VHA SimLEARN National Center, Orlando, FL

Meeting: ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting 2017

Date of first publication: September 18, 2017

Keywords: Education, medical and musculoskeletal curriculum

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Session Information

Date: Sunday, November 5, 2017

Title: Education

Session Type: ACR Concurrent Abstract Session

Session Time: 4:30PM-6:00PM

Background/Purpose: In 2011, the Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Academic Affiliations funded the creation of the Center of Excellence (COE) in Musculoskeletal (MSK) Care and Education at the Salt Lake City (SLC) VA. This report reviews the growth of the COE from a local training program to a national resource supporting multicenter projects in health professions education and scholarship.

Methods: Data was collected from program faculty on activities of the COE over the last five years.

Results: Four educational programs, two clinical experiences and 44 scholarly projects were identified.

Educational programs (offerings and participants listed in Figure 1):

1.     MSK Education Week—an intensive week-long rotation for students and trainees

2.     SLC Mini-Residency—a 3-day accredited continuing professional education (CPE) program for primary care providers (PCPs)

3.     National Mini-Residency—an accredited CPE program presented jointly as an educational partnership between faculty from the SLC VA and 12 VA medical centers

4.     National Simulation, Learning, Education, and Research Network (SimLEARN)—two programs: MSK Master Educator (designed for educational leaders) and MSK Clinician (for PCPs seeking to expand their MSK skills)

Clinical experiences offering hands-on application of skills following educational programs (Figure 2):

1.     A new-model MSK clinic embedded in primary care (PC MSK) and staffed by rheumatologists and a physician assistant with orthopedic experience

2.     A multidisciplinary MSK clinic (MD MSK), with rheumatology, endocrinology, orthopedics, physiatry and primary care

Scholarship (summarized in Figure 3) has included published descriptions of educational programs, evidence of validity of novel assessment tools, impact on learners’ clinical behaviors, and the durability of change.

Conclusion: The COE in MSK Care and Education has evolved from a local experience for students and trainees to a national repository for a range of programs serving the continuum of health professions education that fulfils the three-fold mission of academic health centers: clinical care, education, and scholarship. In addition to creating resources for educators, the COE is now developing a shared database to support collaborative projects initiated by leaders at other sites participating in this program through dissemination of their own innovations.


Disclosure: A. Barker, None; J. P. Beck, None; G. Cannon, Amgen, 2; M. Grotzke, None; S. Swasey, None; C. L. Koening, None; D. Lebiedz-Odrobina, None; Y. Okuda, None; M. J. Battistone, None.

To cite this abstract in AMA style:

Barker A, Beck JP, Cannon G, Grotzke M, Swasey S, Koening CL, Lebiedz-Odrobina D, Okuda Y, Battistone MJ. Five-Year Evolution of the Center of Excellence in Musculoskeletal Care and Education: A National Resource for the Continuum of Health Professions Education and Scholarship [abstract]. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2017; 69 (suppl 10). https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/five-year-evolution-of-the-center-of-excellence-in-musculoskeletal-care-and-education-a-national-resource-for-the-continuum-of-health-professions-education-and-scholarship/. Accessed .
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