MUSC Pediatric Sunshine Therapy Service: Creation of an Interprofessional Integrated Clinical Education Opportunity

Poster Description: In recognition of the evidence and educational benefits involving interprofessional (IP) experiences and Integrated Clinical Educational Experiences (ICEE), the purpose of our clinic is to intertwine these two themes. We have created an IP ICEE entitled MUSC Pediatric Sunshine Therapy Service (PSTS) – where MUSC stands for the Medical University of South Carolina. This service provided complementary physical and occupational therapy services for children on the waitlist of the MUSC Pediatric Out-patient Clinic, which often documents a waiting time of two to three months.
This poster will address the wins and challenges of running an IP clinic for 16 weeks with stakeholder data summarized. The MUSC PSTS is an IP ICEE pediatric experience utilizing an in place pediatric outpatient therapy space. MUSC PSTS is addressing the gap in receiving therapy services rather than children who are uninsured or under-funded due to children being typically funded through governmental or private insurance companies. Children received short-term therapy (i.e., 4 weeks) from the MUSC PSTS before transitioning to an active care status or returning to the waitlist at MUSC Pediatric Out-patient Clinic. Through this project, educational aims will enhance 1) pediatric course learning objectives and clinical performance for PT and OT students, 2) MUSC PT Pediatric Resident’s leadership and clinical instruction abilities, and 3) complement the care of children waiting for physical and occupational therapy by generating evaluative and treatment data for the MUSC Pediatric Out-patient Clinic. This project’s aim used outcomes to measure feasibility of the MUSC PSTS. The MUSC PSTS was initially funded by MUSC Department of Rehabilitation Sciences 2021 Interdivisional/Interdepartmental/Intercollege Seed Grant Program.