Dr. Nickol named assistant dean for interprofessional education

Devin Nickol, M.D., an assistant professor of internal medicine, has been named assistant dean for interprofessional education in UNMC Academic Affairs.

Devin Nickol, M.D.

The newly created position allows UNMC to better organize all of its interprofessional education (IPE) activities.

Dr. Nickol said the office has two initial goals:

• Create an office of education to oversee, coordinate and centralize IPE activities; and
  
• Conduct research on the benefits of IPE educational activities.

“We know students who participate in IPE activities view them as valuable learning experiences. However, we want to identify the areas where IPE can best support core graduate programs across multiple disciplines,” Dr. Nickol said.

Disparities the focus of IPE activity Students will address an issue related to health disparities and consider a collaborative approach to eliminate the disparities. The College of Public Health-sponsored event on Feb. 11 will include students from the Colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Dentistry, Pharmacy and the School of Allied Health Professions.

IPE is an important aspect of professional education and UNMC students must learn to work as part of health care teams with students from other programs, said Rubens Pamies, M.D., UNMC vice chancellor for academic affairs and dean of graduate studies.

“This will not only prepare them for their careers but also provide the best patient care,” Dr. Pamies said. “In addition, the office will lead the effort to engage faculty and students in the research that will determine whether if team-based health care improves the quality outcomes for patients as well as reduce cost.”

UNMC students already work as teams in clinical settings and in service learning projects, Dr. Nickol said, noting that the next step is to examine other areas where students can benefit from a shared experience.