Interdisciplinary case study events for nursing, dietetics, social workers, exercise science and healthcare administration students: Enhancing effective communication between the disciplines

20^th Global Nursing Education Conference

March 21-23, 2018 | New York, USA

Jennifer DeJong and Jack Rydell

Concordia College, USA

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Nurs Care

Abstract :

Introduction: From 2001 to present, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) published eight comprehensive reports on education of health professionals to address changes in the health care delivery system and changes in the patient/clinician relationship. Educators were encouraged to provide opportunities for students to work in interdisciplinary teams. In response to these recommendations, faculty arranged experiences for students with majors in the health professions. Method: Faculty representatives from each discipline modified case studies to include information that a professional in their discipline would typically know. Students were given the case appropriate for their discipline and were asked to develop the appropriate treatment plan. During a specific one hour common meeting time, the students from every discipline met in a common area to discuss their treatment plans. Survey Instrument: Following the events, students were given ten minutes to complete an anonymous survey. Students were asked to respond to five Likert-scaled statements. In addition, three open-ended questions were asked. Results: Students reported a greater understanding of other professional roles following the experience. Students reported that their ability to work with diverse professionals was enhanced by the experience and 89.25% of students reported that they agreed â�?�?exceptionallyâ�? that their role and voice was valued through this process. Conclusions/Implications: All students going in to the health professions need to be educated to deliver patient-centered care as members of an interdisciplinary team. Students and faculty benefited from developing interdisciplinary case studies that emphasized listening, valuing other professionalsâ�?�? roles and working as a team to deliver evidence-based and patient-focused care.