WesternU President Joins National Advisory Committee
Philip Pumerantz, PhD, president of Western University of Health Sciences
(WesternU), has been selected to serve on the advisory committee for the
Center for Interdisciplinary, Community-Based Learning (CICL), a
Washington, D.C. group that provides support and expertise to academic
health centers.
Dr. Pumerantz joins a team of 21 professionals-ranging from medical
practitioners to members of academia and government representatives-who
advise the staff of the CICL on the best ways to fulfill their mission of
strengthening interdisciplinary learning. He said his strong belief in the
importance of interdisciplinary education led to his involvement with the
group.
“”As we move into the next millenium we are facing increasingly complex
social conditions in which no single health profession can meet all health
care needs,”” Dr. Pumerantz said. “”Therefore, a collaboration between the
healing communities is becoming even more vital.””
According to Denise Holmes, director of the CICL, members of the advisory
board serve as a resource for strategic planning and implementation of
interdisciplinary activities.
“”We chose Dr. Pumerantz to serve on the board because WesternU epitomizes
what interdisciplinary health professions education is all about,”” Holmes
said. “”He is a visionary in that arena, and can offer invaluable input to
our process.””
The CICL was established in 1997 as a joint venture between the
Association of Academic Health Centers (AHC), a national non-profit
organization that seeks to advance education for health professionals, and
the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), a branch of the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that directs national health
programs.
Academic health centers consist of one medical school and at least one
other health professions program as well as a teaching hospital. The
objectives of such centers are to serve as a resource for education in the
health professions, to conduct biomedical and health services research and
to deliver quality patient care. WesternU’s primary clinical teaching
program is the Academic Center for Excellence in the Health Sciences,
which is a partnership between the University and the new Arrowhead
Regional Medical Center in Colton, CA, and several other regional health
care institutions.
Holmes said that the importance of integrating interdisciplinary programs
into academic health centers is a reflection of the high levels of service
that patients today expect.
“”We can no longer afford to teach future health professionals only within
their own discipline,”” she said. “”Once students graduate they realize that
the realities of health care delivery today mandate that they understand
very quickly what other health professionals can do and how they can work
together.””