As part of a new course offering, students in the college took an eight-week crash course on the elements of interprofessional practice.
In Introduction & Exposure to Interprofessional Practice, students embarked on an exploratory journey through the core competencies of interprofessional practice to further prepare for careers working collaboratively across disciplines.
The course was co-taught by College of Education and Health Professions faculty members Lisa Bowers and Heather Young. Bowers is an associate professor of communication sciences and disorders, and Young is an associate professor of curriculum and instruction.
Students enrolled in the course came from various majors across the college that prepare students for a career in a school or clinic-based setting upon graduation.
Senior McKenna Callahan is studying speech-language pathology. She said this experience was important as someone headed toward a career requiring collaboration.
“As a future speech-language pathologist, this was extremely beneficial to me,” Callahan said. “Going into the profession with an understanding of how to collaborate with other professionals will give me the knowledge and understanding to provide clients with the best care possible.”
Throughout the eight weeks, students spent significant time learning from and observing staff at Hunt Elementary in Springdale Public Schools. The team at Hunt Elementary gave students insight into how they implement interprofessional practice in their everyday operations and how they work together to provide students with the best possible learning experience.
Students also learned about the four core “competencies” of interprofessional education outlined by the Interprofessional Education Collaborative. These include values and ethics, roles and responsibilities, communication, and teams and teamwork.
“In order to strengthen pre-service professionals’ readiness for collaboration, it is critical to provide them with opportunities to learn with, from and about each other prior to entering their careers,” said Young, one of the course’s co-instructors. “This course allowed us to provide a rich, collaborative and authentic learning opportunity for this multi-disciplinary group of pre-professionals.”
The new offering is part of an effort from the College of Education and Health Professions to embrace interprofessional education and practice. Over the summer, 45 faculty members and administrators participated in a day-long workshop to develop steps for implementing interprofessional education.
The college also established its own Interprofessional Education Council in 2022 to help foster interprofessional practice within the college.
Interprofessional education is a key action item of the service to Arkansas priority within Dean Kate Mamiseishvili’s WE CARE strategic plan.
Students and instructors in the class Introduction and Exposure to Interprofessional Practice pose for a photo at Hunt Elementary in Springdale, Arkansas.
Article originally published as College Offers New Course on Interprofessional Practice and College of Education and Health Professions Offers New Course Studies on Interprofessional Practice.