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Health Systems Science and Interprofessional Practice

What is HSSIP?

Health Systems Science and Interprofessional Practice (HSSIP) is one of the four domains at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine. Health Systems Science (HSS) is broadly defined as the study of how healthcare delivery systems provide high quality, high value care to the patients and populations they serve, while Interprofessional Practice (IP) refers to teams of healthcare professionals from a variety of disciplines working together to deliver this care.

circle diagram. center: patient, family, and community; surrounded by equity. Then six wedges: healthcare structure and process, health system improvement, value in healthcare, population public and social determinants of health, clinical informatics and health technology, health care policy and economics. Another circle border with four parts: Leadership, Teaming, Ethics and Legal, Change agency management and advocacy. All this is surrounded by arced arrows that say Systems Thinking.
Adapted from: Health Systems Science. Skochelak et al, 2020

The Health Systems Science and Interprofessional Practice domain is integrated into all four years of medical school to provide our students with a consistent foundation to develop a comprehensive understanding of the way health care is delivered in the United States.  Through HSSIP, students will learn how to be change agents who are empowered to improve the health of the patients and communities they serve.

Clinical Skills
Class of 2022 practices examining a standardized patients abdomen.

Phase 1

  • Systems Thinking, Social Determinants of Health and Population Health
  • Healthcare Structure and Process
  • Ethics and Legal Issues in Health Care
  • Patient Safety and Quality Improvement
  • Healthcare Policy and Comparative Health Systems
  • Healthcare Policy in Practice
  • Principles of Teaming in Practice/ Transition to Clerkship

Phase 2

HSSIP is vertically integrated throughout the curriculum. In phase 2, each clerkship rotation has a focused health systems science component with didactics and learning objectives.  In addition, this domain is taught through didactic sessions as part of the phase 2 intersession schedule.

Phase 3

Phase 3 continues the vertical integration with a variety of electives across all specialties include a focus on health systems science domains. In addition, this domain is taught through didactic sessions as part of the phase 3 intersession schedule.

 

Meet the Team

Michelle Rockwell, PhD, RD

 Co-Director of Health Systems Science and Interprofessional Practice, Phase 1

540-581-0123
msrock@vt.edu
Riverside 1, Suite 102

Joalenn Tabor

Director, Health Systems Science and Interprofessional Practice Domain

540-526-2085
jmtabor@vt.edu
Riverside 2 M135