The Integrative Clinical Care Experience in Rural Texas (ICCERT) is a HRSA-funded, interprofessional initiative designed to increase the capacity of physician assistant (PA) students to identify, treat, and manage substance use disorders (SUD) in rural communities. Developed by UT Health San Antonio’s Physician Assistant (PA) Studies program, ICCERT strategically embeds PA students in underserved rural health systems where they learn from, and work alongside, interprofessional teams that include behavioral health specialists, medical providers, nurses, and social workers in the primary care setting. This immersive training model addresses a critical shortage of behavioral health services in rural Texas, particularly related to SUD.
Key components include structured rural clinical rotations, targeted SUD curriculum, and collaborative case-based learning with behavioral and other healthcare disciplines. Students participate in a collaborative curriculum with a focus on opioid use disorder (OUD) and medication-assisted treatment (MAT), participate in interprofessional workshops, and engage in simulation-based practice to apply clinical reasoning in real-world settings. Importantly, community health workers and patients with lived experience contributed to the development and refinement of content, ensuring cultural relevance and patient-centeredness.
The curriculum also includes preceptor development and community partnership efforts, strengthening the sustainability and impact of the initiative. Preliminary outcome data show increased student confidence in managing SUD, enhanced collaborative practice behaviors, and improved rural provider recruitment. To date, four ICCERT-trained graduates have completed the program, with two now employed in the same rural communities where they trained. Ten additional students are currently participating in the program.
Advancing the Summit Theme
ICCERT exemplifies the Summit theme of Advancing Interprofessional Care through Practice-Education Partnerships. It bridges education and practice by aligning student learning with rural and medically underserved workforce needs and by supporting clinical partners with educational tools to foster team-based care. ICCERT promotes health equity and value-based care by addressing behavioral health disparities in high-need populations.
Knowledge Contribution
Attendees will gain a replicable model for designing, implementing, and sustaining interprofessional education in rural behavioral health. The talk will present actionable insights for developing community-anchored education strategies that improve health outcomes and student workforce readiness.
Outcomes & Learner Involvement
Students contributed to simulation and curriculum design, offering feedback on modules and identifying learning needs. Project outcomes include increased SUD clinical competencies, interprofessional collaboration, and post-graduation rural employment.
