In the fast-paced world of urgent and primary care, maintaining procedural competency is essential for delivering high-quality and efficient patient care. The OSF APP Education Department developed a program, APP Skills Day, in response to feedback from outpatient providers and learners regarding skills in which they feel underprepared to perform or frequently refer patients elsewhere for evaluation and management. APP Skills Day is held quarterly and provides a hands-on opportunity to refresh and refine the clinical skills most used in outpatient settings-- including incision and drainage, laceration repairs, simple and complex suturing techniques, lesion and cyst removals, musculoskeletal exams, joint reductions, splinting, chest X-ray and electrocardiogram (EKG) interpretation, trigger point injections, and removal techniques for fishhooks, earrings, ingrown toenails, and rings.
Programmatic outcomes over the last 2 years from 140 attendees indicate average mean scores of 4.7 or higher on a 5-point Likert scale in terms of learner engagement and a mean of 4.8 for faculty engagement, with 90% rating agree or strongly agree when asked if they would recommend the program to others. Qualitative comments support these scores, with themes that emerged indicating appreciation for hands-on training, networking with other providers, and the tips and pearls even on procedures that may have been common or familiar. We continuously adjust and refine the skills presented based on learner feedback. In 2024, participants requested more advanced or varied skill offerings, prompting us to review the program to include a broader range of complex skills. This adjustment led to increased overall satisfaction and higher levels of learner engagement. Prior to the curriculum changes, 88% of learners rated agree or strongly agree when asked if they would recommend the program to others. Following the introduction of more complex skills, and the separation of content into an Introductory Skills Day and an Advanced Skills Day, this number increased to 97.5%.
While APP Skills Day is primarily focused on urgent and primary care skills, typically between 5-25% of registered attendees represent specialty areas outside of urgent and primary care. APP Skills Day encourages cross-disciplinary collaboration by bringing together providers from different clinical backgrounds, and learners have remarked on our end of day survey that they appreciate the connections developed during these sessions.
Implementation of quarterly APP skills days improves APP clinical competency, health equity, and access to care, with the ultimate goal of enhancing patient care and provider competence through increased procedural proficiency.
In support of improving patient care, this activity is planned and implemented by The National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education Office of Interprofessional Continuing Professional Development (National Center OICPD). The National Center OICPD is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
As a Jointly Accredited Provider, the National Center is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved under this program. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. The National Center maintains responsibility for this course. Social workers completing this course receive continuing education credits.
The National Center OICPD (JA#: 4008105) is approved by the Board of Certification, Inc. to provide continuing education to Athletic Trainers (ATs).
This activity was planned by and for the healthcare team, and learners will receive Interprofessional Continuing Education (IPCE) credit for learning and change.
Physicians: The National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education designates this live activity for AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with their participation.
Physician Assistants: The American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) accepts credit from organizations accredited by the ACCME.
Nurses: Participants will be awarded contact hours of credit for attendance at this workshop.
Nurse Practitioners: The American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Program (AANPCP) accepts credit from organizations accredited by the ACCME and ANCC.
Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians: This activity is approved for contact hours.
Athletic Trainers: This program is eligible for Category A hours/CEUs. ATs should claim only those hours actually spent in the educational program.
Social Workers: As a Jointly Accredited Organization, the National Center is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved under this program. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. The National Center maintains responsibility for this course. Social workers completing this course receive continuing education credits.
IPCE: This activity was planned by and for the healthcare team, and learners will receive Interprofessional Continuing Education (IPCE) credits for learning and change.
Learners can claim CE credit by completing the Daily Evaluation.
