Leadership Education in Adolescent Health
Grant Status: Completed
Training Category: Leadership Education in Adolescent Health (LEAH) Program
Project Director(s):
Michael Resnick, PhD
Pediatrics Medical School
University of Minnesota
260 McNamara Alumni Center
200 Oak Street SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455
Phone: (612) 624-9111
FAX: (612) 626-2134
Email: resni001@umn.edu
Problem:
UMN-LEAH addresses four needs: 1) reduce disparities in adolescents' health; 2) increase competencies of entry-level providers; 3) expand leadership across disciplines in academics/public health; 4) develop and promote evidence-based practice strategies particularly for new and emerging issues.
Goals and Objectives:
Goal 1: Leadership Development through Graduate and Post-graduate Education Objective 1: Over 5 years: 10 medicine fellows from the disciplines of pediatrics (3 yrs) and family medicine (2 yrs); 23 > 1-year trainees in nursing, nutrition, psychology, social work and public/community health Objective 2: Within 2 years of fellowship completion, 90% of trainees will have 1) an MCH-related faculty appointment, 2) lead role in community-based youth serving organization, or 3) lead role in public health (city, county, state) Objective 3: Goal 2: Expand UMN Capacity to Train MCH Workforce and Conduct Adolescent Health Research Objective 1: Annually, faculty, with fellow involvement, will offer/co-teach>5 grad. credit adolescent health-related courses and >50 lectures/presentations in courses and seminars in AHC and other UMN schools. Objective 2: Annually, all pediatric and med-ped residents (ave. 36) and pediatric nurse practitioners (ave. 10) will complete a 4-hour seminar/practicum on skills for interviewing adolescents taught by LEAH faculty and actors in the Adolescent Actors Teaching Project. Objective 3: Goal 3: Workforce Development through Continuing Education Objective 1: Annually offer, in collaboration with MCHB-funded Center for Adolescent Nursing, a 4-day course on adolescent issues for 60 participants; 25% from underrepresented groups; 25% from UMN MCHB-funded programs; representatives from State Adol Health Coord. and MCH state operations. Objective 2: Each year, LEAH faculty and fellows will present >50 local, regional, and national presentations to community groups, organizations and/or agencies. Objective 3: Goal 4: Creation and Dissemination of Educational Resources & Scientific Knowledge Objective 1: Each year, faculty will offer >10 consultations, workshops, presentations, and technical assistance to education-oriented groups on strategies and resources for teaching knowledge and skills in adolescent health to educators and providers. Objective 2: Each year, 80% of faculty will each submit > 3 manuscripts to peer-reviewed journals. Each fellow will complete a manuscript for submission to a peer-reviewed journal. Objective 3: Goal 5: Enhancing Capacity of MCH Partners through Technical Assistance & Consultation Objective 1: Annually, provide technical assistance/consultation to MCH partners in >5 county and state health departments in the Upper Midwest. Objective 2: Each year, partner with the UMN-based State Adolescent Health Resource Center and other LEAHs to develop training for national SAHRC meetings and to provide on-going technical assistance/consultation and training to Adolescent Health Coordinators in the Upper Midwest and nationally.
Methodology:
Our primary goal is developing leadership capacity of fellows in medicine, nursing, nutrition, psychology, social work and public health/community health. Consistent with our rigorous training in research, we give priority to Ph.D. students and post-doctoral applicants, particularly those from underrepresented populations. Fellowship commitments are delineated in an Individual Learning Plan and monitored by discipline-matched faculty and an individually tailored Scholarly Oversight Committee. Weekly seminars emphasize interactive instruction that fosters a dynamic interdisciplinary learning environment. Knowledge acquisition and skills development flow to application, as each fellow annually prepares a manuscript for submission to a peer-reviewed journal and makes a formal research presentation. All fellows, once during their fellowship, present mock committee testimony before a panel of actual legislators. Some second-and-third-year fellows are supervised mentors for first-year fellows. Clinical requirements are met in multiple sites, including school-based clinics, juvenile detention centers, clinics for youth in foster care, and clinics designed specifically to serve adolescents. In collaboration with the sponsor (the MCHB-funded Center for Adolescent Nursing) and other adolescent-focused entities at the UMN, LEAH faculty/staff/fellows participate (as teachers and as learners) in a four-day institute focused on priority adolescents issues.
Coordination:
UMNLEAH partners: MCH-Public Health, UMNLEND, Center for Adolescent Nursing, Konopka Institute for Best Practices in Adolescent Health, State Adolescent Health Resource Center, Center for Children with Special Health Care Needs, Public Health Nutrition, Collaborative Office Rounds. Practicum sites receive State Title V MCH funds. Core faculty serve on MN Dept of Health MCH committees. Seminars involve faculty/learners from MCHB-funded training programs.
Evaluation:
Process and outcome evaluation is accomplished through regular productivity reviews and monthly discipline-specific meetings with faculty, Individual Learning Plans that provide a record of scholarship, Scholarly Oversight Committees, evaluations of fellow teaching, product review, i.e., research papers and presentations and testimony, evaluations of CE offerings, and 1-, 5- and 10-year survey follow-up with former trainees.
Experience to Date:
In 2010-2011, we had 18 interdisciplinary fellows (6 medicine; 4 nursing; 2 nutrition; 1 social work; 1 public health; 1 psychology; 3 healthy development/prevention). Of these, 12 completed their fellowship requirements for leadership training in adolescent health (3 medicine; 2 nursing; 2 nutrition; 1 social work; 1 public health; 1 psychology; 2 youth development). All 18 fellows conducted a research project, wrote a paper for a peer-reviewed journal, and presented their findings in a formal research presentation (platform or poster) on Research Day. Eight fellows participated in the LEAH seminar program, completing training in leadership skills and being evaluated as competent in research logic and methods, advocacy skills, teaching skills, critical adolescent knowledge and skills, and professional advancement skills. UMN-LEAH formed new collaborations, with the UMN Dept. of Education and Human Development (MN Partnership in School Connectedness), and with the MN Dept. of Health (YouthCHAT). In addition, we invigorated the network of UMN-MCH-funded training programs by leading the way on participation in the national MCH Peer Collaborative on Diversity. Faculty and fellows published 43 manuscripts [additional 30 are in press or under consideration], made 84 presentations, and provided technical assistance for 224 recipients (from local to international organizations). A faculty member was appointed Chair of the UMN Senate Committee on Research.