A student team representing the University of South Carolina is bringing home first place from the 19th annual CLARION National Interprofessional Case Competition in Minneapolis. Team members include Mojibola Awe, Class of 2024, Abigaile Davies, Ph.D. candidate in Pharmaceutical Sciences and third-year medical students Mikaela Ruvolo and Sreeja Varanasi from USC School of Medicine Columbia. In addition, Varanasi was named a recipient of the Best Presenter Award.
The case titled, "Pandemics Past, Present, and Future: Emphasizing Trust & Equity in Emergency Preparedness and Response," invited students to present an implementation plan for effective response to an arising pandemic. Eleven teams from across the country with students representing various health care professions participated.
CLARION, or the Clinician Administrator Relationship Improvement Organization, is housed within the Center for Health Interprofessional Programs at the University of Minnesota and promotes the development of interprofessional relationships among health professional students through experiential learning opportunities, inspiring systems-level changes focused on achieving health for all.
Faculty advisors for the USC team thanked last year’s student team members, Kylee Yturralde, Madison Paternostro and Sydney Nicholls, for their insight and assistance in coordinating this year’s local competition.
“They learned a great deal at the competition last year and utilized that information to make our local competition a success,” says Betsy Blake, director of Interprofessional Education at USC and clinical associate professor in the College of Pharmacy.
“As this is the first year that we have ever held a local competition and the second year ever that we have sent a team to compete, we are beyond excited about this [win].”
Students in the health sciences at the University of South Carolina graduate well-prepared to work in modern, dynamic health care environments as part of interdisciplinary teams thanks to the university’s robust Interprofessional Education program.
Through a combination of events, training, and interactive experiences, IPE allows students to learn alongside peers from 12 health science professions across six colleges at USC. The curriculum focuses on teamwork, leadership, collaboration, health equity and ethics, ultimately improving the overall patient experience for those in South Carolina and beyond.
Topics: Pharm.D. Program, Graduate Programs, Interprofessional Education