SMILE Detroit
Four health professions students. Two universities. One big idea.
When students and faculty from the University of Detroit Mercy and Wayne State University tried to envision a way to learn together about oral health, Students of Michigan for Interprofessional and Leadership Education (SMILE) Detroit was created.
SMILE Detroit brought together Theresa Gattari, WSU Medical School; Rami Nazarian, UDM Dental School; Kendall Gjetaj, WSU PA program; and Sylvia Hang, RDH, UDM PA program (left to right in picture at right) to design and lead a pilot program to increase interprofessionalism between health professions students through education and promotion of oral health.
In February, the SMILE Detroit team hosted an oral health huddle, which consisted of case studies on the impact of oral conditions on overall health and disease, followed by an oral health bootcamp, where students rotated through a series of interactive exercises to lean the oral exam, the application of fluoride varnish, and how to provide oral health instruction to patients.
The students presented their work at the University of Detroit Mercy’s Celebration of Research and Scholarship in April, and plans are underway to replicate and expand the program with future classes of health professions students.