HIV Interprofessional Education Program (IPE)
The University of Kentucky HIV-focused Interprofessional Education (IPE) Program was created in 2016 to prepare future health care professionals in the delivery of quality health care to people with HIV/AIDS. The Kentucky AIDS Education Training Center (KY AETC), located at the University of Kentucky, is a partner of the Southeast AIDS Education and Training Center (SE AETC) at Vanderbilt University.
Participating students shadow providers in the Kentucky Clinic and UK Chandler Hospital, gaining hands-on experience in the care of people with HIV and at risk for HIV. Students also attend HIV-specific seminars, gain access to individual learning modules, and work collaboratively on a culminating project delivered at the end of the program. The experience begins at the start of the spring semester and finishes in December the following academic year.
All participants who complete the program will receive a certificate from Vanderbilt University. College-specific elective credits may also be available.
Program Elements
Shadowing
Shadowing experiences will take place in four-hour blocks. Mentorship will be provided by a rotating schedule of physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, pharmacists, and social work/mental health professionals in both hospital and outpatient settings. Program participants will shadow providers approximately 10 times throughout the year.
Flexible learning hours
Participants will be provided with a schedule of online and live HIV topical conferences and seminars that address contemporary topics and advancements in the field.
Culminating project
Working collaboratively, the team will create a work product of value to the HIV community, broadly defined. The choice of topic and project is to be determined by the participants in the HIV IPE program. A faculty mentor will work with the group collectively.
Application and Selection Process
The UK HIV IPE class will be limited to a select group of 12 individuals. There will be a limit of three participants from each health professions college/program in order to maintain an interprofessional balance. The HIV IPE program is conducted on a calendar year schedule (January-December).
Students who are interested in the program should contact our KY AETC Program Manager Nathalie Dietrich, nathalie.dietrich@uky.edu.
IPE Program Contacts
Evelyn Villacorta, MD, evelyn.villac@uky.edu
HIV IPE Program Director
Nathalie Dietrich, Nathalie.Dietrich@uky.edu
KY AETC Program Manager
Scot Mattingly, f.scot.mattingly@uky.edu
IPE Project Coordinator
Now finishing this program, I now know how large of a team it takes to properly care for these patients. It takes trust, good communication, and diligence from all providers and the patient. Through advanced shadowing, seminars from reputable providers in the healthcare team, and great resources, I have learned how to guide a patient through this greatly misunderstood disease."