The GW Center of Excellence in Maternal and Child Health Policy and Advocacy IPE was held on Friday, October 29th from 12:00-3:00pm in the Milken building (one of our first in-person events!). The Interprofessional Experience (IPE) at GWU is an opportunity to work with students from other professions in an interactive learning experience, which The Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) requires for all accredited schools of public health and each Milken student must participate in one to graduate. This event was extra special because it was the only Maternal and Child health IPE offered this academic year and the first of its kind for the department.
We started off with a delicious lunch catered by Panera before we moved into our groups to discuss the bill we had studied with our fellow students and our facilitators. We focused on the very timely Momnibus Act of 2021 as a case study, with students exploring specific provisions related to a range of federal agencies and policy issues. Each group focused on a different section of the Momnibus act and students developed an advocacy and policy strategy and an implementation plan for relevant agencies and advocates. This IPE provided the opportunity for students from multiple disciplines to examine issues related to maternal health, health disparities and health equity.
We had an incredible time and learned a lot through the critical thinking exercises and presenting our findinds to the group. Our facilitators were experts in the field and helped guide prodcutive and educational discussion, which helped us learn more about health policy and the implications on maternal and child health. Though it was the first of its kind, it is definitely not the last, we will continue to hold educational events and IPE's such as this through our Center of Excellence. This IPE was just another example of the great value the GW Center of Excellence in Maternal and Child Health has for students and how it allows us to go above and beyond when it comes to training students.