Impact of a One-Time Interprofessional Education Event for Rehabilitation after Stroke for Students in the Health Professions.

AIMS: Faculty in the healthcare professions are engaging their students in a variety of interprofessional education (IPE) experiences. One such experience is a one-time IPE event, performed over 2 consecutive years by 2 different cohorts, involving 342 students in occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech-language pathology, and therapeutic recreation. The aim was to provide students with the opportunity to learn about the impact of a stroke, the rehabilitation process, the rehabilitation team and their own profession, as well as incorporating the Core Competencies for Interprofessional Collaborative Practice. METHODS: The event had 3 separate components: a small group discussion on a pre-assigned case of a patient who had a stroke, a patient panel, and a clinician panel. RESULTS: All answers to the survey questions taken by students who attended the IPE event improved significantly at posttest (p<0.001). The IPE event was well received by the students (89.0% reported that the overall experience was good-excellent). CONCLUSION: This one-time event involving four health professions was successful in exposing the students to IPE.

Intergenerational service learning with elders: multidisciplinary activities and outcomes.

This article provides an overview of the activities included in a 3-year, multidisciplinary, intergenerational service-learning project conducted as part of a Foundation for Long-Term Care Service Learning: Linking Three Generations grant. Courses from four departments (gerontology, psychology, occupational therapy, and health promotion and physical education) and one interdisciplinary clinical intervention for stroke patients (speech pathology, occupational therapy, and therapeutic recreation) were involved. Service-learning activities were embedded in course curricula and varied from semester-long activities in group settings to activities involving one-on-one contact for several hours. In total, eight faculty and 225 students worked with 148 elders and 12 different community organizations to plan and implement activities for 357 older adults. Students and elders reported a high degree of satisfaction with the intergenerational activities and indicated that they learned from them and found them of value personally.