Sometimes, the best way to learn is through experience with a trusted team. The Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing will continue to help foster inter-disciplinary learning through a partnership with the Veterans Affairs Quality Scholars Fellowship program.

The VA Quality Scholars Fellowship Program (VAQS), which was recently reissued funding, allows medical students and professionals of many kinds to work together and learn from one another. The aim of the program is to develop leaders, researchers and educators who will lead the way in improving healthcare safety and quality. Corinne Abraham, DNP, RN, coordinator for evidence based practice & innovation at the Atlanta VA Health Care System, says Emory Nursing students have a chance to learn in new ways through VAQS.

“The inter-disciplinary teams at the VA offer a unique form of experiential learning specific to our veteran population,” explains Abraham, also an assistant clinical professor at Emory Nursing. “This is extremely valuable because they interact with veteran patients directly. These interactions often fuel the creation of new approaches to patient safety and an overall increase in their quality of care.”

Fellows in the program will emerge with a mastery of skills ideal for improving healthcare in and outside of the VA. This includes improved methods of research, teaching and learning, and inter-professional team work skills. 

“Our affiliation with the VAQS program demonstrates that the Emory School of Nursing is a leader in inter-professional team training, quality and safety,” says Abraham. “These are qualities our school will continue to encourage among our nursing leaders, be they faculty or students.”