The project seeks to expand access to oral health care for vulnerable and underserved populations in primary care settings through APRN and interprofessional training.
New York University College of Nursing’s (NYUCN) Dr. Judith Haber, PhD, APRN, BC, FAAN associate dean, graduate programs, and the Ursula Springer Leadership Professor in Nursing received a three-year, $1.2M Advanced Nursing Education Program (ANE Program) grant, “Teaching Oral-Systemic Health” (TOSH), from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Funding under the ANE Program goes to support the enhancement of advanced nursing education and practice.
Millions of Americans have unmet oral health care needs, especially vulnerable and underserved populations. With over 158,000 nurse practitioners (NP) and 12,000 nurse-midwives (NM), advanced practice nurses (APRNs), aligning with their dental and medical colleagues, can play a significant role in increasing oral health workforce capacity that will expand access to oral health care and contribute to improving oral-systemic health outcomes for underserved and vulnerable populations.
The TOSH initiative is designed to implement an innovative, replicable, curricular model for developing interprofessional oral health competencies for primary care Nurse Practitioners (NP) and Nurse-Midwives (NM) by integrating oral-systemic health as a curricular thread in primary care NP and NM graduate programs and developing an evidence-based “best practice” model for integrating oral-systemic health in primary care clinical settings.
The TOSH grant also will provide a unique opportunity for nursing, dental, and medical students to use educational technology to participate in inter-professional clinical experiences in oral-systemic health focusing on a team-based approach to improving health outcomes using interprofessional clinical simulations, virtual patient cases, and telehealth to create a patient-centered model for collaborative practice.
“NYUCN and NYUCD are strategically engaged in an innovative, organizational partnership to advance an interprofessional model for health professions. We are eager to have our medical colleagues join the TOSH initiative,” said Dr. Haber. “Building upon these academic partnerships and interprofessional collaborations, NYUCN is well positioned to lead, sustain, and disseminate the TOSH model.”
The TOSH Project is a timely response to the 2011 Institute of Medicine Committee on an Oral Health Access to Services recommendation for innovations in workforce development to increase competence in oral health across professions and to develop interprofesssional, team-based approaches to the prevention and treatment of oral diseases.
About New York University College of Nursing
NYU College of Nursing is a global leader in nursing education, research, and practice. It offers a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, a Master of Arts and Post-Master’s Certificate Programs, a Doctor of Philosophy in Research Theory and Development, and a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree. For more information, visit www.nyu.edu/nursing.