Oral health is an important aspect of our patient’s overall health. Caries and periodontitis can cause worsening of diabetes and heart disease and lead to hospitalizations, loss of time from work, and poor self-esteem. We need primary care academic providers to help address this important health issue. Now there is a unique opportunity for primary care provider educators to help improve oral health outcomes. We are looking for nurse practitioners, family physicians, pediatricians, physician assistants, internal medicine physicians, med-peds specialists, and others.
The Center for the Integration of Primary Care and Oral Health (CIPCOH) is looking for individuals to apply to join its national network of oral health education champions. It is looking for applicants from Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, New Jersey, New Mexico, and Ohio. One oral health education champion will be selected from each state.
State Champions will join the current champions from Alabama, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Missouri, and Tennessee as part of the One Hundred Million Mouths Campaign (100MMC). The 100MMC will create 50 oral health champions over the next decade, one in each state, working with health profession schools/programs (e.g. medical schools, physician assistant schools, obstetrical residencies, etc.) to integrate oral health into their curricula.
Individuals that are chosen to be the state champion will be offered a financial stipend for attending training and planning sessions which will give them tools and resources to engage schools and programs in their state to teach more oral health to their students and residents. Each of the selected champions, in addition to the stipend, will also have a small amount of money available for supplies, stipends to engage patients in planning and teaching, and other costs. Time commitment is estimated at 5 hours per month including a 1.5 hour monthly meeting with other champions for check-ins and additional training. Initial training is 2 4-hour sessions in January 2022.
If you are interested in learning more about becoming an oral health education champion or wish to submit an application, please email Diana Rinke. You can learn more about CIPCOH by visiting its website. Deadlines: for applications, Wednesday, December 15, 11:59 p.m.; decisions on Champion selection, Wednesday, December 22; acceptance by Champions, Wednesday, January 5, 2022; Training of Champions in 2022 the weeks of January 10 and 17 (4 hours per week).
The application includes answering two questions briefly (150 words each) and sending your CV. Question 1) Why do you want to be your state champion and engage health profession schools/programs to learn more about oral health? Question 2) What experience do you have engaging/teaching primary care learners and professionals about oral health?
If you have had any experience with engaging colleagues in oral health education, and you are located in Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, New Jersey, New Mexico, or Ohio, apply or inquire now! If you are a primary care physician and/or educator and would like to have a champion work with your school or residency, you can also reach out.
- What is the One Hundred Million Mouths project? The Center for Integration of Primary Care and Oral Health (CIPCOH) is committed to evolving the oral health curriculum in every health profession school/program in the U.S. (medical, osteopathic, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, midwifery, obstetrical, internal medicine, family medicine, pediatrics, med-peds, and geriatrics). CIPCOH feels that if it can create an Oral Health Education Champion in every state, then it can support that Champion in reaching out to health profession schools/programs in those state and engaging them to improve their oral health teaching. As those students and residents graduate and care for patients, they will improve the oral health of 100 million patients!
- Who are we? CIPCOH serves as a national resource to consolidate the evidence base for systems-level oral health integration into primary care training. It was created through a cooperative agreement with Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). CIPCOH envisions the role of integrative training and practice leading to cost-effective, patient-centered, and improved patient outcomes within the delivery of primary care.
- Who is an ideal candidate? CIPCOH is looking for someone with a passion for health education from one of 8 states to begin with – Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, New Jersey, New Mexico, and Ohio. The ideal candidate may be a nurse practitioner, a family doctor, a midwife, or from any of the health professions it is trying to engage (see above). They should have experience with health education and hold an academic faculty position. They don’t necessarily have to have a lot of knowledge about oral health, but be ready to learn more.
- What will an oral health champion be expected to do? As an Oral Health Education Champion you will learn how to engage health profession schools and programs on the topic of oral health and work with these same schools/programs in your state to increase oral health teaching. CIPCOH will provide a comprehensive curriculum in engaging deans and program directors, existing oral health curriculum and evaluation, and provide ongoing technical support.
- Is travel required? No. Due to COVID-19, the training and support will be virtual.
- How much time will be needed? The total time commitment is around 68 hours from January 2022 to January 2023 [5 hours a month/average plus 8 hour training]. The training will occur over 2 half days followed by monthly 1.5 hour check ins and a longer meeting at the end of the year. CIPCOH expects champions to attend the monthly check-ins to report on your planning and engagement efforts.
- What is the cost? There is no cost to become an Oral Health Education Champion. The training and support are FREE.
- What are the incentives? CIPCOH will provide a one-time $4,000 stipend to one Champion in each of the six states. CIPCOH will also provide up to $1,000 in miscellaneous supplies/costs per state as well as all of the training and support above. Plus, you will be one of the first state champions of a 50 state movement!
- Will there be reportable goals? By the end of the year you will be expected to engage with four health profession schools or programs in your state and begin to evolve their curriculum to include more oral health teaching.