Students from the College of Nursing and the College of Health and Public Affairs came together for an interprofessional education (IPE) event [1] in July. The one-day training taught the students about acute medicine, cervical spine restriction, management of concussions, management of the equipment-laden athlete with spinal injury and other medical related topics.
Carlos Gual, an instructor in COHPA’s Athletic Training Program [2], collaborated with Christopher Blackwell, an associate professor in the College of Nursing, to come up with the curriculum for the training.
“The AT program director reached out to me and asked if I’d be interested in partnering with Athletic Training to conduct an IPE simulation with their students [3]and the Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner [4]students,” said Blackwell, who is an advanced practice nurse and holds a PhD in public affairs. “And I said yes.”
“It was great,” added Gual. “You could see the eyes on both sides opening up and appreciating what the other side of the profession does.”
Gaul selected students from the newest athletic training cohort to give them a chance to practice their newfound knowledge.
Junior Alaina Locus is one of the athletic training students who attended and appreciated the opportunity.
“It gave me an opportunity to review the stuff we just learned, so I could be better prepared to do this in the real world,” she said.
Jenn Leuzinger, a nursing student, thought it was a great opportunity to learn and simultaneously practice what was being taught in the classroom.
“This event was beneficial due to its well-planned format: an overview provided at the beginning, the opportunity to apply proper technique and management in a variety of scenarios, followed by a debriefing of each one along with some feedback,” she said. “Although the scope of information provided is specific, the importance of it in regards to injury prevention is significant.”
Gual said the success of the program has prompted him to consider hosting the event annually. “To be put in a setting to know what happens when the patient leaves you, it better equips you for the situation.”
Both Locus and Leuzinger agreed that they would participate in similar trainings again. “It gives you a different perspective and a different learning environment to put your skills to the test,” Locus added.