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Date of Report: 05/2004
Source: New York/New Jersey AETC; New England AETC; Pennsylvania/MidAtlantic AETC and National Clinicians' Consultation Center
http://www.nynjaetc.org/specialevent/
The first annual East Coast Tri-Regional AETC Faculty Development Conference assembled personnel from the New York/New Jersey AETC, New England AETC and the Pennsylvania/ MidAtlantic AETC. Approximately 150 participants convened in Newport, Rhode Island, April 1-3 to participate in cutting-edge faculty training and capacity building. In attendance were both new and experienced members of the AETC network, clinical faculty from the AETC target disciplines (MD, RN, NP, PA, DMD, PharmD), as well as administrators, evaluators and AETC clinical consultants.
In this regional approach to faculty development, the three northeast AETCs collaborated in their shared commitment to providing quality, state-of-the-art training resources for healthcare professionals working directly with HIV-affected populations. The tri-regional approach prevented the duplication of efforts and maximized the use of resources, and the gathering provided an opportunity to exchange teaching and clinical management strategies among a large group of diverse faculty.
Sessions were conducted in manageable group sizes that modeled excellence in teaching. Participants were able to interact with the presenter, discuss topics and receive detailed answers to specific concerns and questions. Clinical topics focused on capacity building in HIV care through increased cultural competency, as well as clinical consultation, diagnostic and treatment skills. Overall, the facilitators invited participants to learn from the successful experiences of AETCs and reflect on their own best practices:
 | Increasing awareness and framing the context of special initiatives |
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| Understanding projects related to improving the quality of HIV care |
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| Sharing available resources and tools |
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| Teaching faculty and staff how to better use the tools/resources available to them |
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| Learning specific innovative technology tools to facilitate communication in training |
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| Providing materials for distribution to local performance sites (LPSs) (e.g. pamphlets, CD-Roms, etc.) |
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| Increasing exposure of faculty and staff to prevention curricula and cultural competency training including population-specific information for minority, transgender, rural patients |
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In addition to clinically relevant topics, practical training technology sessions enhanced knowledge and skills in a variety of approaches to educating healthcare providers. Participants received specific instruction on developing and presenting PowerPoint slides, CD-ROMs, flipcharts, and using Webcasts, among other tools. Many sessions incorporated interactive, advanced skills-building training including several video coaching sessions, and integration of the Audience Response Systems (ARS) into training programs. Clinical faculty who receive their academic training primarily through didactic methods found this exposure to adult learning modalities new and intriguing. The resounding message of the conference conveyed through topics such as telemedicine and websites as business tools was that expertise in clinical management is necessary, but not sufficient--one must know how to educate other people.
All participants welcomed the opportunity to meet fact-to-face with fellow faculty trainers and educators. Valuable networking time was allotted for faculty members. For many, this elicited a feeling of mutual support from colleagues dealing with similar issues, populations and challenges, and offered possibilities for future collaboration. Ultimately, it was a forum for sharing best practices--improving the quality of faculty through collaboration.
The Tri-Regional Faculty Development Conference was a collaborative effort of the NY/NJ AETC, PA/MA AETC and NE AETC. Workshop, oral presentation and roundtable abstracts are available at http://www.nynjaetc.org/specialevent/; conference presentation materials will soon be available on the NRC website www.aidsetc.org.
. . .Future initiatives in faculty development include the upcoming 4th Annual National Clinicians' Consultation Center Faculty Development Workshop for AETC Consultants and Pharmacists, both experienced and new to the AETC network. As in previous workshops, this conference brings together the consultation and pharmacist expertise from each of the regional AETCs. Together, this remarkable group of clinicians works to enhance their skills as AETC consultants and pharmacists.
This two-and-a-half day program will offer a broad range of opportunities for education and skill enhancement. State-of-the-art topics will include HIV/hepatitis co-infection, longterm effects of antiretroviral therapy (ARV), and ARV therapy and drug interaction updates. Workshops will again feature case discussions and role-plays to identify and illustrate consultation issues in a variety of situations, including hard-to-reach clinicians, pediatric consultations, resistance panels and post-exposure prophylaxis. Participants are asked to share their own best practices or AETC consultation and pharmacy services with colleagues. In the previous year, east coast pharmacists' shared pill planner and HIV/HCV services, a nurse practitioner from Chuuk, Micronesia described HIV care in her setting, and UCSF/SFGH AIDS physicians, including Steve Deeks, David Bangsberg, Stephen Becker, and Deborah Cohan, brought new clinical insight into complex areas of ARV therapy, adherence, drug interactions and the care of the woman with HIV infection during pregnancy. These and other best practices were also shared in an oral abstract session; many participants considered these presentations a highlight of the workshop.
Several regional AETCs have already contributed to the planning and facilitation of this workshop, including SEATEC, PA/Mid-Atlantic, Mountain Plains, New England and the NRC. Several more regional AETCs have joined the planning process. Workshop program, registration and Best Practices abstract submissions are available on the NCCC website: www.ucsf.edu/hivcntr.
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