Marquette University

10/30/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 10/30/2024 10:18

Health Sciences professional program students collaborate across disciplines

Health Sciences

Health Sciences professional program students collaborate across disciplines

  • By Alex Nemec| marketing communication specialist
  • October 30, 2024
  • 2min. read
Alejandra Aponte talks at her table.

Earlier this semester, students across three different clinical professional programs in the College of Health Sciences learned the benefits of understanding one another's specialized skills and tools to achieve a patient's best outcomes during therapy.

The interprofessional education day, or IPE, was hosted by Blue Bird Day - an intensive pediatric therapy program designed for preschool and kindergarten students.

Blue Bird Day led students from occupational therapy, physical therapy and speech-language pathology through specialized training in collaborative care.

Physical therapy student Rachel Moore works with another student by answering trivia questions on their phones.

"One of the major takeaways from today's IPE was that our patients have complex needs, so we need to approach treatment with an understanding of the whole patient," physical therapy student Rachel Moore says. "This requires us to collaborate with the entire team to recognize all the aspects contributing to the patient's case. Treatment would be less effective without the holistic approach stemming from cross-discipline collaboration."

These types of training allow students to explore the realities of individualized care in health care settings.

Further, they give students like Logan Ashenhurst an opportunity to break out of their daily program routine and comfort zone to practice their skills surrounded by various perspectives.

"This type of training encourages us to use different language and remove jargon from our vocabulary to ensure patients and their families can understand the treatment options," says Ashenhurst, an occupational therapy student. "We bounce ideas off each other which lets us be creative in our approach and fill in the knowledge gaps for one another."

Occupational therapy student Logan Ashenhurst listens to a tablemate during the interprofessional education day earlier this month.

Speech-language pathology student Alejandra Aponte says the IPE day was a great first step for her training which will help her navigate similar situations in the future.

"I will undoubtedly work with other professionals throughout my career," Aponte says. "Working with students from other disciplines helped me realize the value and importance of co-treating patients and I feel better equipped to co-treat patients in the future."

For more information on all three professional programs, click here.

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