Clinical Excellence Case Set
Aquifer Trauma-Informed Care
Trauma-Informed Care provides a training tool for a broad range of healthcare providers and their staff to learn about the prevalence and impact of trauma and how to integrate the principles of trauma-informed care into clinical practice. By understanding the behavioral, neurological, and health effects of trauma and learning specific communication skills, clinicians can improve their relationships with patients, better engage patients in all aspects of their care, and potentially reduce the risk of their own professional stress and burnout.
Eleven Trauma-Informed Care virtual patient cases demonstrate the effects of trauma on physical and mental health and ways that clinicians can provide appropriate care to trauma survivors.
Aquifer Trauma-Informed Care is part of Aquifer’s Clinical Excellence Case Set, which includes 52 cases covering Palliative Care, Trauma Informed Care, Diagnostic Excellence, High Value Care, Social Determinants of Health, and telemedicine.
"70% of adults in the US have experienced some type of traumatic event at least once in their lives. That’s 223.4 million people."
The National Council for Behavioral Health
Just in Time Coverage of Trauma-Informed Care Embedded in Select Courses
In addition to the stand-alone cases on Trauma-Informed Care included as part of this Clinical Excellence Case Set, select core cases in Pediatrics, Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Geriatrics, Neurology, and Radiology now have brief teaching on Trauma-Informed Care embedded right into the case in the form of a clinical decision making question.
Together the just-in-time curricular threads combined with the deeper principles and application cases provide a strong foundation in Trauma-Informed Care across the curriculum without adding faculty time.
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Key Features
- Part of Aquifer’s Clinical Excellence Case Set, included with Curricular Partner subscriptions and available by subscription to Limited Subscribers
- Cases focus on the impact of trauma and how healthcare practitioners can provide appropriate care for diverse populations
- Ready-made cases to support self-directed learning, appropriate to supplement pre-clinical or clinical learning
- Cases take approximately 15-20 minutes to complete.
- Appropriate to support pre-clinical or clinical learning.
- Can be combined with other cases in a custom course to meet the needs of your specific curriculum.
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Course Content
Virtual patient case scenarios address a range of core competencies and critical learning objectives, including the prevalence and health effects of trauma, the principles of trauma-informed care, the neurobiology of trauma, clinical management of persons who have experienced traumatic events, and interprofessional collaboration methods for working with trauma-affected patients. The types of patients cared for in the cases span the age spectrum and are seen primarily in the outpatient setting or in the emergency department.
The cases illustrate how trauma-informed care can improve patient-provider rapport, increase patient engagement in preventive care, and facilitate integrated, patient-centered treatment plans.
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Development Process
After the grant award in 2020 from the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, Aquifer established a Palliative Care Leadership team, a group of interprofessional clinician-educators and content experts representing schools around the US.
In the absence of clear national curricular standards on palliative care in medical and health professions education, the Leadership Team then completed a needs assessment (stakeholder surveys and focus groups) and literature review. After completing the research activities, the leadership team held a consensus conference, synthesizing the literature review and needs assessment findings into a vision statement and key guiding principles.
Using the vision and principles as a framework, the Leadership Team developed a national palliative care curriculum to be delivered through the Aquifer course. Learning objectives were identified, and development work on virtual patient cases began in late 2021. Case development used varied pedagogies to ensure that learners are equipped with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to provide patient-centered care to their communities.
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Curriculum Integration
Aquifer Trauma-Informed Care is designed for any level student in a medical school or health professions program. The course is an ideal assignment for students to complete as preparation for clinical experiences that include telemedicine. Cases also serve as valuable reference material for students to return to as they need to refresh their knowledge during clinical rotations.
Programs with a current Aquifer subscription will also have faculty and administrator access to an accompanying educator guide. Subscribers will also be able to view student progress reporting and combine the new cases with other Aquifer content in a custom course.
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Case List
Trauma-Informed Care 01: Principles of trauma-informed care
Trauma-Informed Care 02: 45-year-old with diabetes experiencing stress
Trauma-Informed Care 03: 33-year-old with insomnia
Trauma-Informed Care 04: 50-year-old with stress and noncardiac chest pain
Trauma-Informed Care 05: 8-year-old with asthma
Trauma-Informed Care 06: 48-year-old coping with HIV
Trauma-Informed Care 07: 58-year-old veteran with chronic pain
Trauma-Informed Care 08: 58-year-old with gastrointestinal symptoms
Trauma-Informed Care 09: A rape exam in the emergency department
Trauma-Informed Care 10: Clinician with a trauma history
Trauma-Informed Care 11: 78-year-old wellness visit
Trauma-Informed Care 12: 28-year-old pregnant patient with a history of witnessing violence
Aquifer Clinical Excellence Course Board
Heather Harrell, MD, FACP
Course Board: Aquifer Clinical Excellence
Role: Editor in Chief
Institution: University of Florida
Institutional Title: Professor of Medicine and Associate Dean of Medical Education
Lauren Azevedo, DO, MS, FAAP
Course Board: Aquifer Clinical Excellence
Role: Associate Editor
Institution: Michigan State University
College of Osteopathic Medicine
Institutional Title: Assistant Dean
Kelsey Dougherty, MMSc, PA-C
Course Board: Aquifer Pediatrics
Role: Associate Editor
Institution: University of Colorado Child Health Associate/Physician Assistant Program (CHAPA)
Institutional Title: Assistant Professor
Patricia Griffith, PhD, CRNP, ACNP-BC
Course Board: Aquifer Clinical Excellence
Role: Associate Editor
Institution: University of Pennsylvania
Institutional Title: Practice Associate Professor, Associate Director AGACNP Program
Jennifer Grumet, MD
Course Board: Aquifer Clinical Excellence
Role: Associate Editor
Institution: Chapman University / PA Studies Program
Institutional Title: Clinical Associate Professor, Director of Admissions, Assistant Clinical Coordinator
Nivedita Gunturi, MD
Course Board: Aquifer Clinical Excellence
Role: Associate Editor
Institution: Rush University Medical Center
Institutional Title: Assistant Program Director, Assistant Professor
Kathryn Holliday, DNP, CPNP- PC, CNE, CHSE
Course Board: Aquifer Clinical Excellence
Role: Associate Editor
Institution: SUNY Upstate Medical University, College of Nursing
Institutional Title: Clinical Assistant Professor
Kate LaPorta, MHS, PA-C
Course Board: Aquifer Clinical Excellence
Role: Associate Editor
Institution: University of Colorado CHA/PA Program
Institutional Title: Assistant Professor
Townes R. Leigh, Jr., DO, CAQSM, FAAFP
Course Board: Aquifer Clinical Excellence
Role: Associate Editor
Institution: Sam Houston State University College of Osteopathic Medicine
Institutional Title: Assistant Professor of Family Medicine/Sports Medicine, Program Director SHREC Sports Medicine Fellowship
Juan Lessing, MD
Current Role: Associate Editor
Course Board: Aquifer Clinical Excellence
Institution: University of Colorado School of Medicine
Institutional Title: Associate Professor, Medicine-Hospital Medicine
J'Aimee Lippert, DO
Course Board: Aquifer Clinical Excellence
Role: Associate Editor
Institution: Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine
Institutional Title: Associate Dean of Admissions and Student Affairs
Jamie Macklin, MD, MPH
Course Board: Aquifer Clinical Excellence
Role: Associate Editor
Institution: The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
Institutional Title: Associate Medical Director of Medicine
Khiet Ngo, DO, MS
Course Board: Aquifer Clinical Excellence
Role: Associate Editor
Institution: University of California Riverside School of Medicine
Institutional Title: Associate Dean for Clinical Skills Education & Innovation
Amit Pahwa, MD
Course Board: Aquifer Clinical Excellence
Role: Associate Editor
Institution: John Hopkins University School of Medicine
Institutional Title: Associate Professor of Medicine
Institutional Role: Director, Internal Medicine Sub-Internship
Rex Alvin D. Paulino, MD, AGSF
Course Board: Aquifer Clinical Excellence
Role: Associate Editor
Institution: Joan and Stanford Division of Geriatric and Palliative Medicine
University of Texas Health Sciences Center at Houston
Institutional Title: Associate Professor
Manajyoti Yadav, MD, FACP, FRCP
Course Board: Aquifer Clinical Excellence
Role: Associate Editor
Institution: University of Illinois College of Medicine Peoria
Institutional Title: Clerkship Director