Grand Valley State University will be hosting the Midwest Interprofessional Practice, Education, and Research Center’s (MIPERC) 2017 conference, “Team Science and Virtual Healthcare,” which will feature nationally recognized speakers.

MIPERC is a multi-institutional organization dedicated to the development of interprofessional initiatives, as well as patient-oriented care. In years past, this conference has been an opportunity for new ideas and networking. 

Students are encouraged to attend this regional two-day event, which will be held Thursday, Sept. 21, and Friday, Sept. 22, in the Loosemore Auditorium of the Richard M. DeVos Center. 

The deadline to register is Monday, Sept. 18. To attend the conferences on both days, there is a registration fee of $125, which includes an afternoon reception Thursday and a continental breakfast Friday.

There will be a pre-conference workshop Thursday from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. in the L. William Seidman Center Forum, which will focus on challenges in health care.

On both days, breakout sessions will follow the presentations.

Some of the objectives of this conference are to educate people in attendance on telehealth and its purpose in practice and to improve the performance of teamwork through techniques and team science theories. 

Diane Dykstra, the special projects coordinator for the Office of the Vice Provost for Health and the coordinator for this event, said this year’s conference marks the 10th anniversary of MIPERC. 

“We have seen record registrations for the conference this year,” Dykstra said via email. “We’re especially excited to see the increasing number of students from multiple disciplines taking an interest in the event.” 

Brenda Pawl, the director of special projects for the Office of the Vice Provost for Health, said this is a good event for students to attend, regardless of their field of study.

“This is a good thing for students to attend if they’re in health or health-related programs,” Pawl said. “If you’re a non-health-related student, this will inform you on why it is important and to understand that the culture of health care delivery isn’t a team-based delivery style, versus just being a single practitioner telling your story over and over.” 

Dykstra anticipates the event will spark new ideas and collaborations.

“Health care has become more complex and requires new innovations to deliver better patient-centered care,” Dykstra said. “Working in cross-discipline teams is critical to improving communication between health care professionals and leading to improved care for the patient. 

Our keynote and podium speaker topics provide a broad range of experiences from across the region and will likely serve as a catalyst for new ideas, relationships and collaborations.”

Pawl hopes attendees will find the event to be educational.

“I hope that people will hope to learn about, from and with each other,” she said. “They’ll understand the key performance; they’ll understand a little bit about how telehealth is also transforming health care delivery. In the next 20 years, it may not look like the typical way that we are used to receiving health care.” 

For more information or to register now, go to www.gvsu.edu/miperc/2017-miperc-conference-40.htm.