Interdisciplinary Teamwork in Health and Human Services is a three-credit graduate level course taught by Dr. Phillip Clark, Professor of Human Development and Family Studies (HDF) and Director of the Gerontology Program. The course includes a weekly seminar and a hands-on experiential component. Students acquire an understanding of teamwork as it relates to interdisciplinary collaboration in health care, human services and education settings. Students in Pharmacy, HDF, Physical Therapy, Communicative Disorders, Nursing and Psychology have taken the course, as well as undergraduate health study majors. Though in the HDF curriculum, this course attracts students from across the majors in the three AHC colleges.

 Clark introduces his students to the four Interprofessional Practice Competencies. Students also have the opportunity to assess and understand their role on a team. including personality type, learning style, and managing conflict. Clark states: “By the time students graduate, they are proficient in what it means to work together as a team, how to communicate with different professions and personalities, what goes into effective communication, and how to constructively deal with conflict and see that it is inevitable. [Students] understand their own conflict style and appreciate the conflict style of other people and how they can work together. [As well as,] what it means to be a leader and how it is different in healthcare and in society.”

Students learn through a variety of modalities, including videos, class discussion, and the textbook co-authored by Dr. Clark. There is a strong emphasis on self-reflection and evaluation. Students learn strategies to effectively communicate in teams, manage conflict, and various leadership styles. Throughout the course, students are reflecting on their ability to work in teams through keeping a journal and submitting reflection papers. Through self-assessment exercises, students are able to understand their learning style, how they work with different personalities and different leadership styles. As a result, the students acquire an understanding of the different skills needed for effective teamwork and how each individual can bring a unique trait to the team.  To help deepen understanding of the roles and responsibilities of various healthcare professionals students are also required to interview a student from another health profession about their professional training and background.

Part of the course revolves around a Problem-Based Learning case study. Problem-Based Learning is a teaching method that uses complex scenarios to promote student learning in addition to fostering the development of critical thinking skills to solve a problem. Students are assigned to a case-based group and work together to come up with an interprofessional assessment and care plan of a client/patient. The care plan is presented to the class.

When asked what students like most about the course, Clark states: “students value the self-insight the most.”  This self-insight creates an appreciation of everyone’s contribution on the team, and fosters an appreciation for a student’s self and for others. For many students keeping a journal is a new concept and many students are not comfortable with self-assessment, but soon students see the benefit of the process. Clark remarks: “The journal allows [students] to see their progress over the course of the class – that you would not see – kind of like going through a photo album and see how you grew – at the time you may not be aware that you are changing and growing.”