Prof Valerie Gruss to lead interprofessional education at UIC Nursing
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UIC Nursing associate professor Valerie Gruss, PhD, APN, CNP-BC, will be the college’s first director of interprofessional education, leading efforts to engage with students, faculty and staff from a variety of academic disciplines.
“Interprofessional education is now seen as a mandate for a well-rounded health education,” says Dean Terri Weaver. “Nurses do not practice in a vacuum, and they must learn to collaborate with a variety of other healthcare providers, such as physicians, pharmacists, physical therapists, mental health providers and social workers. Dr. Gruss is uniquely positioned to ensure we’re providing our students with opportunities to train side-by-side with colleagues across the university.”
Gruss is one of the pioneers of interprofessional education at UIC. In 2009, she worked with faculty from six UIC health science colleges to create interprofessional education (IPE) opportunities for students, forming a group of faculty called the Collaborative for Excellence in Interprofessional Education.
Based on that success, she and other leaders held the first campuswide IPE Immersion Day in spring 2013. Now an annual event, it has grown to include more than 1,000 students and 100 faculty facilitators from all of UIC’s seven health science colleges and all regional campuses.
Gruss also represents the college in several campuswide IPE committees and, in 2018, co-chaired the inaugural symposium for Interprofessional Education, Collaborative Practice and Scholarship held at UIC.
“Interprofessional education and collaborative practice has been a passion of mine since coming to UIC,” Gruss says. “My goal is for UIC College of Nursing graduates to be fully prepared for teamwork and collaborative practice and to be leaders for systematic change in healthcare delivery to a more collaborative team model.
Gruss was an inducted as a fellow into the American Academy of Nursing last year, one of the most prestigious honors in nursing. She is the primary investigator for a $3.3 million dollar grant to establish and operate a geriatric education program preparing primary care professionals to work in interprofessional teams and provide high-quality, patient-centered care to older adults.