Southwest Indiana Area Health Education Center (AHEC) coordinated a First Steps interprofessional education (IPE) workshop at the Stone Family Center for 110 students from University of Evansville (PT and PA) and USI (MSOT and OTD). First Steps is Indiana’s early intervention program for children (birth to age 3).
USI students from across healthcare disciplines participate in poverty simulations hosted by Southwest Indiana Area Health Education Center (SWI-AHEC), gaining firsthand insight into the daily challenges faced by individuals facing socioeconomic barriers and how that impacts health.
Food and Nutrition students learn how to insert an NG (nasogastric) tube, perfecting the art of gently guiding the tube through the nose and into the stomach. Then, the Radiologic and Imaging students check the placement of the NG tube using a portable X-ray machine.
Nursing and Diagnostic Medical Sonography students team up for a postpartum simulation, practicing critical skills in maternal care and ultrasound imaging and learning how to deliver safe, compassionate care for new mothers and their babies.
Students from the Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA), Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD), Nursing and Respiratory Therapy programs come together for a mock code blue, practicing responding to a cardiac emergency and building confidence, communication and teamwork skills that save lives.
Nursing, OTD, OTA and Respiratory Therapy students engage in early mobility simulation, learning how collaboration across disciplines supports safe movement, improves recovery outcomes and enhances quality of life for patients.
First-year Nursing students teach OT students how to properly assess vital signs. They applied these skills in the Kinney College Simulation Center, practicing real-time patient care in a collaborative environment.
Kinney College students put their collaboration and leadership skills to the test in a fun competition with LEGO blocks during lively TeamSTEPPS® (Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety) training sessions.
USI Dietetics students share their passion for nutrition with students in our Nursing Program during a hands-on “carb counting activity.” Together, they learn how understanding carbohydrates is a key to healthy eating and managing various dietary needs and health conditions.
USI Occupational Therapy students share their expertise in assessing range of motion and muscle strength with Nursing students. This hands-on collaboration strengthens interdisciplinary teamwork and enhances patient care.
Interprofessional education is a collaborative approach to develop healthcare students as future interprofessional team members, a recommendation by the Institute of Medicine (IOM, 1972). The World Health Organization describes interprofessional education as: "When students from two or more professions learn about, from, and with each other to enable effective collaboration and improve health outcomes." (WHO, 2010)
At USI, students from the health professions and related disciplines are engaged in interactive learning with each other. Being able to work effectively as members of clinical teams during their education is a fundamental part of learning. Each student learns to value the unique perspective and knowledge the other professions bring to the care of the patient.
Healthcare teams that practice collaboratively are the key to safe, high quality, accessible, affordable, patient-centered care that is desired by everyone.
Learning together interprofessionally leads students to practice collaboratively as they enter the workforce. Although effective interprofessional education may occur in different ways, it often involves the following elements:
USI is working hard to ensure that students are well-prepared to fully participate in the evolving health environment with effective interprofessional knowledge and skills.
The development of interprofessional education in the United States mirrors the movement that is developing internationally. Health professions engaged in interprofessional education at USI include nursing, occupational therapy, occupational therapy assistant, respiratory therapy, dental hygiene, dental assisting, diagnostic medical sonography, food and nutrition, radiologic and imaging sciences and health administration.