Interprofessional collaboration is a partnership between a team of healthcare providers that allows for a synergistic influence of knowledge and skill to make decisions regarding health issues and improve patient outcomes.

Goodwin’s nursing students and faculty along with the Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA) students and faculty embarked on this collaboration.

Jan Costello, Nursing Department Chair and Associate Professor, initiated the implementation.

“The idea stemmed from a discussion I had with an RN-to-BSN consultant,” Costello noted. “I turned to the literature that supported interprofessional education.”

First semester nursing students and OTA students enrolled in Case Studies in Occupational Therapy worked together for four two-hour sessions.

Teamwork and collaboration is a very important aspect of nursing education. It provides nursing students with the knowledge and expertise to move and position patients appropriately as well as provide them with assistive devices to facilitate optimum functioning and quality of life.

OTA students learn the impact of specific medical conditions and gain insights into what type of interventions the patient may require.

“Interprofessional collaboration is a very current topic in health care and a trend in healthcare education,” stated Deanne Anderson, OTA Program Director and Associate Professor. “It enhances and identifies all of the areas where nurses and OTA’s will be able to assist each other in facilitating better quality of care.”

Through this educational collaboration, nursing and OTA students will be able to understand the cross over in their roles as a caretaker and transition into their professional life with that knowledge.

“The bottom line is the quality of care and a greater appreciation of each team member’s role,” Anderson stated.

Interprofessional collaboration will continue to be incorporated into Goodwin’s curriculum to equip students with the skills needed in the workforce.

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