Demonstrate advanced clinical knowledge and leadership skills on client safety through disseminating information to practicing clinicians and professionals within the emergency management community.

IAEM Webinar Series

After tackling some gaps in knowledge at work through my last artifact, I decided to build upon this by branching out to a different professional community: the emergency management community. My professional portfolio centers on patient safety, spanning from the hospital to home. Although my primary workplace is in a hospital, I sought to diversify my skills and expand my expertise across the continuum of care, specifically within the home environment.

With guidance from Dr. Anita Perr, I connected with Anne-Marie McLaughlin, NYU's Director of Emergency Management and Continuity. Collaborating with the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM)'s Access and Whole Community Inclusion Caucus, I hosted two national webinars. The first, "Keeping Everyone in the Loop Through Engagement Strategies: Promoting Inclusivity in Communication Before, During, and After an Emergency," emphasized the importance of collaborative emergency planning to enhance safety, particularly for those with access and functional needs. The second webinar, "Promoting Inclusive Personal Preparedness Strategies Before a Disaster," focused on inclusive preparedness plans for people of all ability levels. This highlighted the importance of collaborating with diverse populations rather than planning exclusively for them.

As I built my relationship with IAEM, I had countless meetings over two years to plan both webinars. Gaining rapport with various emergency management officials from New York, Colorado, and California allowed me to develop professionally. I was able to network, since we intentionally chose panelists on the federal, state, and local levels could provide a dynamic conversation during the webinar with more widespread representation. 

This artifact notably stands out from my other artifacts in the fact that it demonstrates my leadership skills outside of the OT realm. Having the ability to network within another community is important for career growth. Additionally, rather than gathering information for an infographic, this artifact focuses on performing knowledge translation, aiming to effectively communicate and apply patient safety in real world settings. I gained and strengthened these leadership skills of flexibility, adaptability, approachability, willingness to learn, attentiveness, and cultural competence, which will help me in the long run. 

Below, I have posted the accessible flyers that were distributed to promote the webinars. Additionally, there are links recordings from both webinars. The first webinar titled "IAEM-USA Access and Whole Community Inclusions: Keeping Everyone in the Loop Through Engagement Strategies" occurred on October 6, 2022. The second webinar titled "IAEM-USA Access and Whole Community Inclusion: Promoting Inclusive Personal Preparedness Strategies Before a Disaster" occurred on March 30, 2023.