RHSC Interprofessional Advisory Council (One Role Remaining: Paramedic)

Nurses for Sexual and Reproductive Health (NSRH) provides students, nurses and midwives with education and resources to become skilled care providers and social change agents in sexual and reproductive health and justice.

NSRH has recently been awarded a grant through the California Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) as a part of the Reproductive Health Services Corps (RHSC). The Corps is composed of 6 organizations: TEACH, UCSF School of Nursing, CSU East Bay, NSRH, ACTIONS, and the Black Midwifery Fellowship. The purpose of the RHSC is to develop and/or update current curricula to provide comprehensive reproductive health care training, including abortion care to scope of practice for various health care professionals throughout the state of California. This is an unprecedented statewide effort to improve access to abortion care and training and diversify the state’s reproductive health workforce in the face of continuing attacks on abortion access nationwide.

As a part of our work on this project, NSRH is coordinating the development of comprehensive sexual and reproductive health education including abortion care for Doulas, RNs, LVNs, Medical Assistants, Paramedics, and Community Health Workers. This project has been funded for 4 years with the first year allowing us to focus primarily on doing some of the foundational work to:

• Understand the pathways into each profession.
• Understand the education and training landscape across all disciplines as it pertains to sexual and reproductive health broadly and abortion care provision, more specifically.
• Understand the licensing and continuing education requirements for these professions in the state of California.
• Understand the different modalities for disseminating the content and identify best practices in each discipline.
• Identify dissemination partners who are interested in licensing the content as a part of the grant.

In order to accomplish this critical work, we are recruiting a body of interdisciplinary experts who can work with us as thought partners during this critical early stage of the process. We are looking to recruit professionals with a wealth of experience as either a (1) Community Health Worker, (2) Paramedic or EMT, (3) Doula, (4) Medical Assistant, (5) Licensed Vocational Nurse^*** who also possess a depth of knowledge about their discipline including:

• Understanding of the education and training landscape, including continuing education requirements and education required for entry into the profession.
• Understanding of licensing requirements, if applicable, in CA.
• Understanding of scope of practice within the profession in CA
• Knowledge of the major “players” in the discipline (key organizations, programs, individuals…).
• Some knowledge of/ familiarity with Reproductive Justice principles and frameworks.

^***Please note: We are accepting applications from only paramedics/ EMTs now.

We will recruit a total of 5 professionals, one representing each discipline, for a 6 month term. While this initial engagement will be confined to 6 months, we are hoping to build lasting relationships in which we will be able to collaborate on SRH education and training throughout the duration of the grant.

During this 6-month engagement we will focus on 3 main objectives:

1. Help us understand the general education and training requirements for each discipline, including licensing bodies and requirements.
2. Develop a survey of the SRH education and training content, especially as it relates to abortion care provision already offered in each discipline. This will help us:
   • Identify any potential overlaps across the disciplines.
   • Identify gaps in education and training both across the disciplines and within each discipline.
3. Collect feedback to help us identify which topics are most important to prioritize within each discipline and help us determine methods for disseminating the education and training materials within each discipline based on ways these professions are already receiving education and supplemental training.

As a member of the Council, you will be asked to:

1. Attend bi-weekly 2-hour virtual working sessions; the cadence may be subject to change based on the needs and work styles of the group.
2. Complete preparatory assignments/ tasks in preparation for each working session.
3. Disseminate a survey to at least 60 professionals within your discipline to help us determine relevant knowledge and skills within sexual and reproductive health. This will shape the content that we are creating as well as the methods of dissemination.

Council members must live in California. Participation will require approximately 5 hours a week of work from each participant, including participation in the bi-weekly virtual working sessions. Council members will receive $10,000 in compensation for their active participation. The first session will run from February- July. We will set the working session schedule during our first meeting.  Please note that attendance for the working sessions (12 in total) is mandatory and so you should only apply if you foresee having the capacity to participate fully. While all of the sessions will be virtual, we do hope to host at least one in-person event in 2024 to bring all of our partners together.

This is an exciting opportunity to participate in truly groundbreaking work that will have a major impact on shaping how we train the Interprofessional healthcare team in sexual and reproductive health moving forward. We look forward to having you join us in this critical work. Even if you are not a fit for this first cohort, please note that we will be looking for other ways to engage experts in the various disciplines throughout the duration of this grant.

Black, Indigenous, People of Color, trans people and people of differing abilities are strongly encouraged to apply.  It is critical that this body be as diverse as the communities that this project will serve.

Application Process:

Submit a resume and cover letter that addresses the following:

1. Which discipline you are qualified to represent
2. What special knowledge and expertise do you feel you could contribute to the Council?
3. What elements of this project most excite you?

Please also provide 3 references, any social media handles you’d like to share with us and a sense of your general availability. Participation is key for all council members and so we want to make sure that we can schedule meetings to accommodate everyone.

Please send your resume and cover letter to [email protected] with the subject line: XXX Rep Application Submission (ex: Paramedic Rep Application Submission).

About the Organization

NSRH is an organization that is working towards equity and diversity at all levels of our organization and operations, and we recognize that we still have a long way to go. The only way to ensure access to comprehensive healthcare for all is to situate SRH within the larger context of systemic injustice and oppression. In order to do this, we must cultivate partnerships and opportunities for collaboration with the organizations working on these issues. We also recognize that we must address inequities in the nursing field and SRH sector if we want to achieve quality, compassionate healthcare for all. 

We must conscientiously work to ensure that our education and research are targeted to address these gaps. The Instructional Design Manager will play a vital role in helping the organization think strategically about how to reach and impact a diverse body of nurses through our educational offerings. 

Mission Statement

Nurses for Sexual and Reproductive Health (NSRH) provides students, nurses and midwives with education and resources to become skilled care providers and social change agents in sexual and reproductive health and justice.

Vision

We envision a world in which all people have access to just and dignified full-spectrum reproductive and sexual health care.

To achieve universal access to comprehensive, full-spectrum SRH, all nurses must have access to education and training from pre-licensure, to professional development opportunities for seasoned clinicians. They must also understand how economic and socio-cultural factors impact patients’ sexual and reproductive lives and reflect the diversity of the communities they serve. NSRH is helping to realize this vision by providing nursing students, nurses, and midwives with the education, professional development opportunities, and advocacy tools they need to become social change agents in sexual and reproductive health and justice.

We have identified 3 Strategies for addressing this mission:

1. SRH Education and Training
2. Professional Development, and
3. Advocacy Tools and Training

NSRH is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate based upon race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status. Our goal is to cultivate a diverse organization that is representative, at all job levels, of the communities that Nurses serve. We welcome applications from members of historically marginalized groups.