Interprofessional Education Project at Carandolet Village

Karen Sames, Professor of Occupational Therapy (OSOT), was awarded $9,000 to study the impact of interprofessional education on the teamwork skills of healthcare students and support the Henrietta Schmoll School of Health (HSSH) initiative to advance interprofessional education. Since healthcare delivery is becoming increasingly interprofessional, it is imperative that the HSSH prepares students to be collaborative caregivers in the future. Interprofessional education is defined as students from two or more health professions learning with, from, and about each other. The primary purpose of this project is to develop, implement, and evaluate an innovative interprofessional clinical course that is focused on team care and collaborations among student from six health professions programs. This project provides students with a unique learning opportunity beyond traditional uniprofessional education and will include students from the following fields of study: occupational therapy, physical therapy, nurse practitioner, and physician assistant. Because education and healthcare are undergoing a significant transformation, they require new, innovative pedagogies and breakthrough strategies to prepare students as Interprofessional client-centered practitioners