Canadian University Press Releases/Newswire

Source: University of Toronto
http://www.news.utoronto.ca/bin6/061018-2637.asp

Students learn about teamwork at first interprofessional education event

October 18, 2006

A new way to look at
health science education
Oct 18/06
by Arlene Clement

First-year students from nine University of Toronto health sciences- and
social work-related programs and faculties came together last week to learn
about the importance of interprofessional teamwork and patient-centred care.
The session was the first of a series of regular events planned by the
university’s new office of interprofessional education (IPE), which brings
together students from pharmacy, dentistry, medicine, nursing, social work,
speech-language pathology, occupational therapy, rehabilitation therapy and
physical education and health.

Approximately 1,000 students attended the event at the Ryerson Theatre,
which featured a skit performed by several faculty members as well as the
personal account of one woman’s experiences with various health
professionals after suffering a stroke. After the presentations, students
were broken into multidisciplinary groups to examine the experiences
presented in the skit and the personal story and to discuss the value of
collaborative models of patient-centred care.

"This is the beginning of a new way of looking at health science education,"
Professor Ivy Oandasan, the IPE director, told the packed room. "As you
begin your journey to becoming a health professional, we want to sensitize
you to the patient’s perspective of health care and what it means to be
involved in interprofessional patient care."

The event, which was filmed by the Canadian Health Research Foundation,
provided the students with their first opportunity to meet their peers from
other health-related fields and to be introduced to the concepts of IPE. By
2009, IPE courses will be mandatory in the curricula of all nine health
sciences- and social work-related programs and faculties.