465 The Impact of a Multi-Disciplinary Burn Education Course

Abstract Introduction Specialized care of burn survivors spans the care continuum. Inquiries from multi-disciplinary clinicians within our Burn Center’s catchment area led us to suspect knowledge gaps and decreased confidence in treating burn-injured patients. To bridge the identified gaps and to ensure optimal outcomes following burn injury, an education course was developed to target clinicians who provide post-acute burn treatment. Methods The course was interdisciplinary in nature and focused to address the multifaceted aspects of recovery from burn injury. Involved disciplines included counseling, nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech-language pathology (SLP), and a surgical physician assistant. We partnered with our local Area Health Education Center (AHEC) to implement a course entitled “Burn Care: Multi-Disciplinary Journey Through Acute Care, Outpatient, and Beyond.” Topics included: medical, wound, scar, and outpatient pediatric management, the role of SLP, exercise interventions, and psychosocial factor considerations. Results There were 48 attendees. A pre-test and a post-test composed of 12 questions were completed to measure knowledge outcomes. Forty-one attendees responded (85%). Course evaluation included data on the effectiveness of each presentation and specific ways in which attendees would change their practice, as well as future learning needs. Responses were largely positive. A follow-up assessment is planned at 3 months. Conclusions This course highlighted the enthusiasm of attendees in learning about effective burn treatments to improve patient care practices for this population. Positive citations indicated this course provided resources for future reference and expressed interest for in-depth education that builds on this content. We believe there is an opportunity to provide basic knowledge, as well as advanced knowledge and skills to community providers. This course provided networking opportunities to build our referral sources and have face-to-face contact with our community providers. Applicability of Research to Practice This course supported our hypothesis that there is an interest in and need for burn education. The interdisciplinary nature of the course enhanced the learning experience relative to understanding roles and providing core burn information; however, this limited the depth of discipline-specific content. AHEC provided a mechanism for targeting in-state clinicians; however we found an opportun