WSSU School of Health Sciences students, WFUSM Dept. of PA students, and Forsyth Technical Community College nursing students collaborate through Northwest AHEC on an inter-institutional, interprofessional program.
Winston-Salem State University’s (WSSU) School of Health Sciences and Wake Forest University School of Medicine (WFUSM) Department of PA Studies began a collaboration through Northwest AHEC to pilot a new inter-institutional, interprofessional program in 2021. The WSSU-WFSM IPE collaboration focuses on enhancing existing curricula by adding a case-based educational experience at both institutions. This year they were excited to include Forsyth Technical Community College nursing program into the partnership. The partnership allowed for over 300 students and 30 faculty facilitators to come together in-person to discuss and collaborate on a patient case so that students could gain a better understanding on how interprofessional teams can best approach the care of patients.
The collaboration involves the integration of the use of an escape room that was built by the Wake Forest University Instructional Design team and many other activities built into the program to help enhance discussions and communication between the students. The event focused on giving students the ability to collaborate as an interprofessional team in the management of a simulated patient’s care as well as understanding the roles and responsibilities of each discipline member on their team. Students also focused on addressing the social determinants of health and how health equity plays a role in the patient’s care.
During the event on April 9th, 2024, a diverse group of over 300 participants from a range of disciplines came together to collaborate on a simulated patient case. This included students from WSSU Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Nursing, Healthcare Management, Therapeutic Recreation, Rehabilitation Counseling/Services, Social Work, and Clinical Laboratory Science, as well as those from WFUSM PA Studies and Forsyth Technical Community College Nursing. View photos from the event here
Additionally, the event saw the valuable contribution of a graduate assistant from the Winston-Salem State University Physical Therapy program. Her involvement in the planning committee not only enhanced the event but also provided her with valuable experience in program planning and the chance to connect with faculty from various disciplines.
“I had the privilege of serving as the Graduation Assistant at the recent IPE event, and it was an incredibly rewarding experience. The positive energy and engagement from both students and faculty left a lasting impression on me. Witnessing the collaboration across disciplines was inspiring and I believe that understanding other fields will indeed enhance our ability to provide holistic patient care in the future.”
-Maryam Behnejad, WSSU Student
Currently, post-event evaluations are being reviewed and we are hoping to gain knowledge on what went well and opportunities for improvement. We are looking forward to seeing what the future holds for this initiative. This interprofessional effort has helped and will continue to help teach students how to effectively collaborate with a multidisciplinary approach and improve health outcomes.
