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Partly Cloudy Touro University brings hands-on learning to Woodmere
Professional environment propels collaborative education
Touro University brought comprehensive diagnosis and treatment training to Woodmere as part of its Interprofessional Education Symposium.
The 11th annual event brought together 500 students and faculty members including current and future health care professionals from Touro College of Pharmacy and Touro University School of Health Sciences that has locations across Long Island and in New York City.
The students and staff with specializations in nursing, occupational therapy, physician assistance, physical therapy, speech-language pathology and clinical mental health counseling gathered at Congregation Sons of Israel in Woodmere in on March 19.
“Having years of hospital experience, I found the Interprofessional Education Symposium to be an amazing opportunity for our students to experience in the interdisciplinary rounds process,” Sharon Blum, Lawrence resident and chair and professor in the Department of Pharmacy practice said in a news release.
To start the day, the symposium attendees viewed a presentation on the hypothetical case of a stroke patient with a heart disease background. They learned of the patient’s medical, surgical and social history and vital signs and then were sent off in teams to develop a treatment and discharge plan for the patients.
There were 35 care teams, consisting of a faculty facilitator and nine to 11 students all of who were in their last semester of school, each from a different specialty.
Rivka Molinsky, associate dean of students and innovation helped to organize the event.
“The design of the case is created with input from experts,” Molinsky said of the patient situation presented to the students. “We’re sure that the case is reflective of real life.”
Students are presented with the case weeks before the event so they can prepare how they would tackle it from their specific point of study.
Tali Marcus, a Woodmere native and physician assistant student at Touro attended the event.
“This event was special because it wasn’t just sitting in a class with just PA students or just PT students,” Marcus said. “Each school has their own flavor when looking at a patient. For me that was very interesting because I come from a more medical perspective, they’re coming from mental health or social issues or physical barrier perspective.”
Molinsky said that the Woodmere synagogue and amenities such as the catered food created a wonderful environment.
“Congregation Sons of Israel is great to work with, Upper Crust caterer is great,” Molinsky said. “It makes a big difference to the day, it’s like a professional conference.”
Molinsky, along with Jill Horbacewicz, chair of the doctor of physical therapy program and co-chair of interprofessional education published a study, showed that the annual symposium enabled student progression in learning about various professions and gain hand-on experience based on a survey given to students assessing competency in collaborative practice.
“This symposium highlighted the importance of interprofessional collaboration to provide a high level of patient care and to improve communication so we can prepare these students for meaningful careers in the health sciences,” Horbacewicz wrote in the news release.
