ARP/Interprofessional Programming Focuses on Leveraging Health Equity to Enhance Rheumatology Practice

With nearly three dozen sessions in the ARP/interprofessional program at ACR Convergence 2023, the variety of content reflects the diversity of the ARP membership and the interprofessional team.

“We’re addressing burnout in rheumatology professionals, we’re bringing in a session around oral health care in rheumatology, which is something that hasn’t been covered in some time. We’re also looking at grief within rheumatology patients,” said Priscilla Calvache, LCSW, incoming Chair of the ARP/Interprofessional Team for the Annual Meeting Planning Committee (AMPC). “Jillian Rose-Smith, PhD, MPH, LCSW, and the planning committee, in line with ACR and ARP’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, have prioritized topics surrounding these areas.”

Dr. Rose-Smith is the 2023 Chair of the ARP/Interprofessional Team, and Vice President and Chief Health Equity Officer at the Hospital for Special Surgery.

“We are proud of the breadth of programs offered this year, with an intentional focus on integrating the health equity lens to offer participants a well-rounded experience as they care for patients and their families, engage in cutting-edge research, and as we build meaningful partnerships with each other across the college and around the globe that honors our diversity and optimizes dignity and respect as we work together to advance our profession,” Dr. Rose-Smith said.

On Sunday, Nov. 12, Empowering Rheumatology Professionals in Caring for Gender Diverse Populations will begin at 9 a.m. PT in Room 25A–C of the San Diego Convention Center.

“We’re going to hear from a physician as well as a physician assistant. The session will address mitigating implicit bias toward gender minorities, as well as building an inclusive and affirming healthcare environment for gender minority patients, staff, and trainees,” said Ms. Calvache, Assistant Director for Lupus Programs and Community Engagement at the Hospital for Special Surgery.

Additional health equity-themed sessions include:

• Interventions to Increase Minority Participation in Lupus Clinical Trials, Sunday, Nov. 12, 12–1 p.m., Room 23A–C
• Daltroy: Redefining Imposter Syndrome: Eliminating Bias and Transforming Culture, Sunday, Nov. 12, 4–5 p.m., Room 6A–B
• Addressing Social Determinants of Health: A Journey Towards Health Equity, Monday, Nov. 13, 7:30–8:30 a.m., Room 26A–B
• Lost in Translation: Creating Access Pathways for Language Diverse Patients in Rheumatic Care Settings, Monday, Nov. 13, 2–3 p.m., Room 29A–D

“The above topics offer our rheumatology professionals concrete knowledge and tools to improve patient satisfaction, adherence, and outcomes, and reduce adverse events for the diverse populations impacted by rheumatic conditions,” Ms. Calvache said.

The Daltroy Lecture, to be presented by Puja Mehta, MD, MBBS, is among select sessions that will be livestreamed for online viewing in real time. Dr. Mehta is a rheumatologist with specialist interest in interstitial lung disease and hyperinflammation at University College London, United Kingdom.

All ACR Convergence sessions will be available on demand for registered participants following the meeting. The other livestreamed ARP/interprofessional session is the ARP Keynote on Tuesday, Nov. 14. Sarah Patterson, MD, a rheumatologist and researcher at the University of California, San Francisco, who specializes in integrative medicine, will present Lifestyle Medicine: Improving Quality of Life while Living with a Rheumatic Condition at 7:30 a.m. in Room 6A–B.

“This session will look at approaches beyond conventional medicine that give patients who are living with rheumatic conditions tools that can be used with disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs, with the focus of improving disease outcomes and reducing symptom severity,” Ms. Calvache said. “It will look at overall lifestyle and integrative medicine treatment with a focus on nutrition, physical activity, stress, and resilience. It will have a nice holistic spectrum. This is an area that’s becoming more popular in medicine.”

Kaleb Michaud, PhD, will present the ARP Distinguished Lecture: From Then to Now to When – Perspectives from 45 Years of Patient Experience with Hope for Tomorrow on Monday at 4 p.m. in Room 23A–C. Dr. Michaud, Professor and Director of the Rheumatology Fellowship Research Program at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, has been a rheumatology patient for more than 40 years and a rheumatology researcher for more than 20 years.

“This is an exciting topic, as Dr. Michaud will be sharing from his personal but also professional experience. Within the context of rheumatology’s current care model, he’s going to review a variety of disease measures and look at how the patient experience has changed,” Ms. Calvache said.

Three bootcamps will provide an in-depth look at three rheumatology mainstays. The Radiology Bootcamp will be on Saturday, Nov. 11, from 1:30–3:30 p.m. in Ballroom 20D.

The three-part Stats Bootcamp will feature daily sessions starting on Sunday. Stats Bootcamp I: Introduction to Longitudinal Data Analysis will begin at 4 p.m. in Room 23A–C, followed on Monday with Stats Bootcamp II: Statistical Time-to-Event Data Analysis for Clinical Researchers at 12 p.m. in Room 24A–C, and on Tuesday with Stats Bootcamp III: Longitudinal Latent Growth Modeling: An Overview with Applications in Rheumatology at 11:30 a.m. in Ballroom 20A.

The Immunology Bootcamp will begin on Monday and include two sessions. Immunology Bootcamp I: Basic Principles begins at 12 p.m. in Room 6D–E. On Tuesday, Immunology Bootcamp II: Principles in Practice begins at 12 p.m. in Room 23A–C.

“These have been around for several years and are always well-received. Especially for our research audience, what’s nice is the sessions were designed so they build up on each other,” Ms. Calvache said. “People go to the conference looking for practical skills and knowledge to bring back to their areas of practice. The practicality of application of the skills from the bootcamps is what makes them stand out.”

Additional ARP/interprofessional sessions

Sunday, Nov. 12

• The “Tooth” About Oral Healthcare in Rheumatic Disease: A Multidisciplinary Approach, 8:30–10 a.m., Room 24A–C
• Optimizing Telehealth for All: Barriers, Access Issues, and Potential Solutions, 9–10 a.m., Room 23A–C
• Strategies to Optimize Research Dissemination and Communication, 12–1 p.m., Room 6D–E
• Palliative Care: Is It Time to Make “Rheum” for This?, 12–1 p.m., Room 24A–C

Monday, Nov. 13

• Going Viral: How to Achieve Podcast Success, 8:30–9:30 a.m., Room 23A–C
• Nonpharmacologic Strategies for Pain Management in Adults with Osteoarthritis, 8:30–9:30 a.m., Room 24A–C
• Fill the Rheum: Make Way for the Interprofessional Team!, 12–1 p.m., Room 23A–C
• The World Is Your Oyster: Publishing Pearls from Editors, 4–5 p.m., Room 23A–B

Tuesday, Nov. 14

• Phenotyping and Precision Medicine: The Interface of Research Methodology and Clinical Practice in NIAMS-Funded Centers for Clinical Research, 8:30–10 a.m., Room 24A–C
• Addressing Burnout: Fostering Calm, Coping, and Resiliency for Rheumatology Professionals, 11–11:45 a.m., Room 30D–E
• A Thousand Tiny Deaths: Attending to Grief in Patients with Rheumatic Diseases, 11 a.m.–12 p.m., Room 33A–C
• Use of Design Thinking for Implementing Complex Interventions in Arthritis Care, 11 a.m.–12 p.m., Room 7A–B
• The Role of Specialty Pharmacists in Rheumatology Clinical Practice and Research, 12–1 p.m., Room 24A–C
• Coming Together Is a Beginning, Keeping Together Is Progress, & Working Together Is Success: Rheumatology Interprofessional Collaboration, 12–1 p.m., Room 1A–B
• A 360-Degree View on Developmentally Responsive Transitions of Care, 12–1 p.m., Room 6D–E
• It Takes a Team: Helping People with Rheumatic Diseases Successfully Navigate Work, 4–5 p.m., Room 23A–C
• Time Spent Sitting and Walking: Does It Matter and Can We Change It for Adults with OA?, 4–5 p.m., Room 8
• My Patient Is My Guide: Building Trust Through Promoting Patient-Provider Relationships, 4–5 p.m., Room 32A–B

Wednesday, Nov. 15

• Pain Self-Management and Technology: Hybrid Books to Virtual Reality, 7:30–8:30 a.m., Room 30D–E

Ms. Calvache encourages attendees to take advantage of the networking opportunities at ACR Convergence, specifically in the all-new Interprofessional Team Networking Lounge.

“One of the most valuable components of the conference is that you’re able to connect with people who are doing groundbreaking work and create opportunities for collaboration,” she said. “And being an ARP member allows us to support each other and the diverse needs of the subspecialties that we’re working in. ARC Convergence is an opportunity to hone your skillset and gain new partnerships to be able to foster our professional development.”

The ARP Networking Lunch & Business Meeting will be on Sunday, Nov. 12, from 11 a.m.­–1 p.m.