CONWAY – Approximately 360 UCA undergraduate and graduate students from eight disciplines within the College of Health and Behavioral Sciences (CHBS) will attend a professional session to increase their readiness for interprofessional practice from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 14, 2014 in the UCA Student Center Ballroom.
Students from dietetics, health education, nursing, kinesiology, occupational therapy, psychology, physical therapy, speech language pathology (communications sciences and disorders), and pharmacy will spend part of the day learning about the professional roles of the disciplines represented at each table. In addition to sharing their roles, they will collaborate to establish team-based goals and suggest interprofessional interventions for two complex case study scenarios.
Health sciences students are preparing early for interprofessional practice. Collaborating is considered essential due to today’s complex health care environment. The UCA CHBS Interprofessional Committee is assuring that UCA is ahead of the curve by hosting an Interprofessional Forum. The CHBS has held the IPE Forum each year since 2010 with over 600 students participating. Faculty and students from the UAMS School of Pharmacy have also participated in the forum since 2012.
Participating faculty within the CHBS has found the forum to be effective in increasing students’ readiness for interprofessional practice. Results related to the efficacy of the forum have been disseminated through six national presentations and two refereed publications. Results are consistent with the Interprofessional Education Commission’s Collaborative Expert Panel’s (IPEC) guidelines for interprofessional practice. Last spring, students in the CHBS collaborated to provide health information related to obesity and healthy lifestyle choices at UCA’s Health Fair.
For more information, contact Dr. Lorrie George-Paschal at lorrieg@uca.edu or (501) 450-5564.
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