| Respect As A Core Belief |
| Teaching
family-centered care has been part of Parent to Parent's mission for
the past 20 years. The core values of family-centered care emphasize the partnership between families and professionals in caring for children with special needs through the intentional practice of open and honest communication, mutual respect, and thoughtful collaboration. These principles are being taught through Parent to Parent's Family Faculty Programs, where families are the faculty, including parents, children, and siblings, teaching first and third year medical students, pediatric residents, and other health and education students and professionals. These learning experiences provide future and practicing professionals with opportunities to meet children and their family members outside a clinical setting to gain a new perspective on families' challenges, strengths, and beliefs. Throughout two decades of service, Parent to Parent has built partnerships and established collaborative relationships with state government and public institutions, including Vermont Children's Hospital at Fletcher Allen Health Care, the University of Vermont College of Medicine, the Vermont Department of Health, Division of Children with Special Health Needs, Social & Rehabilitative Services, and the Vermont Department of Education. The importance of sustaining these relationships is vital to guarantee the availability, accessibility, and coordination of services and support to children and their families within communities. |
|
|
Principles of
Family- Centered Care
|
Nancy DiVenere, Parent to
Parent's Executive Director for the last 17
years, has nurtured these relationships because she had the foresight
to recognize how critical these collaborations would be to transforming
the principles of family-centered care into widespread practice. "Our
partners rely on Parent to Parent, as an autonomous organization, to
lend integrity to the programs we have co-developed. By gaining
the
trust of families and creating leadership opportunities for them,
Parent to Parent has created a means by which children and families can
give honest and very helpful feedback about their experiences and
relationships with care providers," Nancy explains. The basis of all Family Faculty programs is that families are the experts - their personal experiences provide real-life teaching points designed to illustrate the practice of family- centered care. As one medical student reflected after a home visit: "It was enlightening to relax with this family and look at life through the eyes of parents, a perspective that is often disregarded when planning services for a child with special needs." In terms of attitude, quality of care, and delivery of service, family-centered care is an ongoing process of discovery and understanding, and when future and experienced professionals, are actively engaged in this practice, better outcomes emerge for all children. "Students who learn from families from the very beginning [of their training] will see these families forever as colleagues and that their care of patients will be forever changed for the better," Diane Magrane, (former) Associate Dean of Medical Education, University of Vermont College of Medicine. Dr. Lewis First, Chief of Pediatrics, Vermont Children's Hospital and Senior Associate Dean for Educational and Curricular Affairs explains that "the opportunity to learn from Family Faculty is a critical component in our training of medical students and pediatric residents so that they develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that exemplify the principles of family-centered care. I know of no more successful way to instill these principles into our trainees." Since 1985, 102 Family Faculty have helped to educate over 1,072 medical students, pediatric residents, and other health care providers. The commitment of these volunteer parents to support other families and train medical professionals shows their unfaltering dedication to our organization and its mission. Our strong program partnerships reflect our deep commitment to the community and, in turn, the community's confidence in us. Collaboration is evident in all of our work and helps us to avoid unnecessary duplication of services and to explore ways to compliment and expand our combined ability to serve children with special needs and their families. © |
Family
Faculty Programs: (see Family Faculty Page for
more info)
Medical
Education Project (since 1985)
VT-Interdisciplinary
Leadership Education for Health Professionals (since 1996)
Families In
Resident Student Teaching (since 1999)
Dartmouth
Hood Center Rural Medical Home Project (1997 - 2003)
Consultation
to Pediatrics Residency Program at Dartmouth College School of Medicine
(1999-2003)
UVM Seminars
for Undergraduate & Graduate Programs (since 1988)
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Spring
2004 - In this Issue:
From
our Director
Family
Support Report
Family
Voices of Vermont
20th Anniversary Reflections
Family-Centered Care
Thanks
to David Stifler, MD
Interview with Don Swartz, MD
Books & Beyond
Heartfelt Thanks
(Click Site Map to view older newsletters)