Healthcare programs at Southeast Technical College in South Dakota are integrating interprofessional education (IPE) into curricula for all health students to experience this fall. IPE is education involving at least two disciplines learning together.

The delivery of healthcare involves many disciplines to support an excellent patient, client or resident experience. Learning to work as a team member enhances one’s ability to effectively work with specialized roles that augment the delivery of care.

“Our faculty have been advancing their understanding of IPE through formal education, planning with colleagues, and building learning activities for students in syllabi,” said Deb Letcher, associate dean of curriculum and instruction for healthcare programs. “Team competencies of communication, role clarification, mutual respect and situational awareness guide both faculty and student learning.”

During the first week of the fall semester, registered nurse (RN) students were introduced to how nursing and respiratory therapy work side-by-side to support airway management when individuals have altered breathing issues.

Nursing students observed and interacted with the respiratory therapist program director, and nursing faculty demonstrated equipment that supports and aids breathing functions. As students deepened their understanding of airway management, they also gained knowledge of the respiratory therapist role and opportunities to work collaboratively in ways that promote safe, effective care.

Student IPE learning activities will occur over the course of the semester and cover an array of experiences. A few examples include:

• Sonography, medical lab technician and invasive cardiovascular technology students will learn how to respond together to care for a patient in the emergency department having a heart attack that needs to be treated with cardiac cath lab procedures.
• Medical assisting, medical coding, and cardiovascular sonography technology students will interact with one another to learn the importance of communication, assessment and coding to assure accurate documentation for correct coding and billing requirements essential for reimbursement.
• An interprofessional healthcare team project will involve all students taking a HC-103 interprofessional healthcare course. Students will be taking part through observation and research in one simulation experience. They will present their findings from research of the roles they witnessed and share their experiences with classmates.
• Nursing and dental assisting students will work together with pregnant moms to learn why a referral to the dental office for a periodontal exam is important.

“The health division is looking forward to enhancing student’s understanding and contributions to team-based care, which is key when working with multiple disciplines in industry,” concluded Letcher.

This article was originally published here.