An interdisciplinary learning experience through applied clinical practice with community volunteers.

Abstract

ALLIED HEALTH PROFESSIONALS typically begin working on an interdisciplinary health care team immediately upon entering the workforce. Interdisciplinary health care teams are believed to be cost-effective, to result in better patient outcomes, and to lower staff burnout and turnover.1-4 Although teamwork often is standard practice in the workplace, allied health students may receive little to no formal training in working with other professionals while in school.5 Instead, it may be assumed that this knowledge is inherent or that developing the skills necessary to work as part of a team while on clinical affiliation or postgraduation is acceptable.5 Opportunities to work on an interdisciplinary team while still in school result in clinicians who are more adept at collaborating in the workplace.6'8 The skills required to be effective in working on an interdisciplinary team are complex and diverse and may not be taught easily in a didactic setting. Allied health students require a basic understanding of the role and function of other disciplines on a health care team as well as their own to understand their relative contributions to patient care.2'9 Abandoning turf and boundary issues is essential for a health care team to be most effective. Students must learn to share their expertise without feeling threatened or experiencing a loss of their professional identity.3 Respect and appreciation of other disciplines is crucial so that students can participate in discourse without belittling the contributions of others. Respect and appreciation for others may be accomplished through teaching basic communication skills, such as conflict resolution, and encouraging students to minimize the use of professional jargon.2-3 Many examples of allied health interdisciplinary education exist in the literature, often on a continuum ranging from students from different disciplines attending the same class with little interaction to courses and projects that actively involve students in teamwork.8 Some allied health programs provide full interdisciplinary courses, often taught by a team of instructors, including seminars, laboratory experiences, and case studies.10-12 A problem-based learning format, with a combination of case study and hands-on learning, is another popular way to incorporate interdisciplinary education into an allied health curriculum.13-15 Some allied health programs have developed specific laboratory or community experiences designed to place students from one or more disciplines together to learn clinical and professional skills. Richardson and Edwards16 described a clinical skills laboratory for occupational therapy (OT) and physical therapy (PT) students. Up to eight students were paired with one geriatric patient and an occupational or physical therapist facilitator. Students were required to help the patient learn several clinical skills, such as bed mobility and transfers, and were evaluated by the supervising therapist.16 Thomas et al17 structured opportunities for students from OT, PT, and speech therapy to evaluate well elders at a local senior center. This 9-week experience allowed students to work on an interdisciplinary team with actual patients.17 The literature supports creating interdisciplinary educational experiences to assist students in establishing the skills and behaviors needed to become competent clinicians.1-3,6,7,9 Opportunities that allow for more frequent interaction with patients and peers from different disciplines provide a more realistic learning environment. 6,16,17 This article describes one such opportunity, the Applied Clinical Practice (ACP), involving PT and OT students who collaborated weekly for one semester to work with community volunteers. One goal for the ACP was to provide students an opportunity to apply didactic information regarding evaluation and treatment directly to a community volunteer with a neurologic diagnosis, while under faculty supervision. A second goal was to reinforce clinical reasoning, professional behaviors, and interdisciplinary teamwork. …