Milestones
Year One
In the first year, a process and an infrastructure were developed through the Department of Advanced Educational Systems to plan, develop, and support the initiative as both a research and development effort. Equally-committed to both the development and study of the new learning system, an entire process was developed to produce, and ultimately, analyze the effectiveness of such a system on patients’ lives. In order to open the door to a range of new educational topics, an infrastructure was created to support the initiative both within the School of Medicine and the Medical Center at large.
Early Infrastructure Development
- Creation of inter-departmental production & development teams
- Creation of an executive review board
- Program integration with NYU’s Medical Center’s existing patient education program
- Development of an investigator-driven clinical research study to analyze effectiveness of the new program
Year Two
In the second year of the initiative, two pilot learning systems were developed for patients undergoing carotid artery disease and breast cancer, in collaboration with the NYU Department of Surgery, NYU Tisch Hospital, and the NYU Cancer Institute.
In fall of 2004, we began development of the first pilot project of this series for patients with lung cancer.
From 2005 to the present, the Patient Education Research and Development Initiative has committed itself to the development of a wide-scale, comprehensive patient education program for NYU’s Cancer Institute.
Future Directions
With the growth of the Patient Education Research and Development Initiative and its heightened visibility within NYU, the department of Advanced Educational Systems has begun to lay ground for new explorations in learning environments for patients. By working collaboratively with NYU medical faculty, clinical specialists, staff, patients, and families dedicated to improving quality of care, we hope to discover critical opportunities to develop innovative projects and new research areas.
The Patient Education Research and Development Initiative grows out of the current need for a clear understanding of today’s complicated healthcare terrain. Patients and families, under the duress of a loved one’s illness, must navigate through a variety of barriers and challenges in their journey from diagnosis to treatment and recovery. Focusing on the patient and family’s perspective, we hope to make a lasting difference in the experience of care at NYU and abroad. By complimenting and supplementing traditional forms of media and information, and encouraging patients and families to become more engaged with their health care, we hope to meaningfully augment the existing educational system while continuously questioning/re-envisioning how we can creatively improve the patient experience in all aspects of care.
