Kettering College and the University of Dayton Collaborate
April 11, 2024 –Kettering College hosted an interprofessional education (IPE) collaboration in our simulation labs for our Occupational Therapy doctoral (OTD) students and the University of Dayton’s Physical Therapy doctoral (DPT) students. This was the second IPE event between these groups, the first one being held at the University of Dayton’s (UD) labs in 2023.
Dr. Chioma Lindo, Occupational Therapy assistant professor at Kettering College says, “The goal of the day was to facilitate interprofessional collaboration between OTD and DPT students, providing them with an opportunity to witness firsthand how OTs and PTs can work together in various clinical settings to evaluate and treat patients effectively.” Dr. Harold Merriman, Physical Therapy associate professor at UD, says, “We recognize the great benefit of IPE in exposing our DPT students to students and clinicians from other healthcare disciplines.”
The event was created to help mimic an environment much like one students will encounter as professionals in the near future. Dr. Lindo says, “Through this collaborative exercise, students from both colleges accomplished several key objectives. They had the opportunity to observe and participate in co-evaluations, which not only clarified their respective roles in the evaluation and treatment process but also provided insights into effective strategies for mobilizing patients and enhancing communication skills to meet patient needs. Additionally, the exercise of writing and articulating goals for patient cases allowed students to receive constructive feedback from faculty, further enhancing their learning experience.”
Dr. Merriman says for the DPT students from UD, this simulation event was the first time they were able to observe a PT evaluation in action, “with the added bonus of observing how a PT/OT co-evaluation is conducted.” He says, “Our students got to see how PTs and OTs work together as a team to improve the healthcare outcomes of patients.”
Kettering College’s Dr. Lindo says we will continue to collaborate with UD’s DPT program to build upon this collaboration “to enhance the overall experience for students involved. Moving forward, we are committed to ongoing refinement and development of our collaborative initiatives to ensure that they continue to provide meaningful learning opportunities for all participants.”
The University of Dayton’s Dr. Merriman also looks forward to the continued partnership to share knowledge and provide students with hands-on learning. He says, “Kettering College’s IPE simulation lab is a wonderful asset, as it provides students with the look and feel of a real hospital room. Of course, this will make it so that when they do go out to the clinic, they will feel much more confident and less intimidated since they have developed their critical thinking skills in real-time. Such skills are absolutely vital for today’s healthcare professionals to be successful.”
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