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Graduate Interprofessional Education

Graduate programs across all campuses collaborate to host graduate interprofessional events throughout the year. These events include both curricular and extracurricular opportunities.

Extracurricular Events

Graduate extracurricular interprofessional events provide students with a chance to learn alongside community members and current students from different programs. These events occur year-round and include:

  • Schwartz Center Educational Rounds: Events, such as speaker series, designed to help our Worcester and Manchester communities collaboratively understand the needs of individuals from different cultures and backgrounds. Past Schwartz Center events include a talk hosted by sepsis survivor and double-arm transplant recipient William Lautzenheiser.
  • Dementia Awareness Training Workshops: These interdisciplinary workshops train students on how to empathetically care for patients with dementia. FAST Exam Patient Simulation Activity:
  • Interactive simulations in which students work in interprofessional teams to treat patients requiring urgent care.

Curricular Events

Curricular interprofessional experiences are held on a cadenced basis. There are four core interprofessional experiences:

  • Roles & Responsibility Inventory (Fall)
  • Cross-Cultural Simulation and IPE Book Club (Spring)
  • Annual IPE Day (Summer)

Term: Fall
Programs: Acupuncture, Dental Hygiene, Optometry, Occupational Therapy, Nursing, Physician Assistant Studies, Physical Therapy, Pharmacy

Roles and Responsibilities Inventory is considered students' introductory interprofessional education activity.

Students work individually, and then in interprofessional teams, to complete a checklist of professional activities. They are asked to clearly communicate their own roles and responsibilities with one another, as well as with simulated patients and families. Through this activity, they also become equipped to explain the responsibilities of other care provides, describe how the team works together to provide care, and actively listen to patients and fellow team members.

Term: Spring
Programs: Acupuncture, Dental Hygiene, Optometry, Occupational Therapy, Nursing, Physician Assistant Studies, Physical Therapy, Pharmacy

During the Cross Cultural Simulation, students explore the characteristics of two cultures—alpha and beta. Student pairs "visit" the other culture to observe and attempt to learn their traits through various interactions.

Through this activity, students learn to respect the expertise of other health professions, as well as to manage ethical dilemmas and embrace the cultural and individual differences that characterize patients and the healthcare team.

Term: Spring
Programs: Acupuncture, Diagnostic Medical Sonography, Nursing, Physician Assistant Studies, Physical Therapy, Pharmacy

The Interprofessional Education Book Club calls upon students to collaboratively discuss and reflect on a book called The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down.

Through this interprofessional opportunity, students learn how to connect with other members of the healthcare team as they embrace and respect their collective differences—all with the goal of instilling the importance of "patient-first" care delivery in these future healthcare leaders. This activity also provides a venue to practice active listening, and managing ethical dilemmas.

Term: Summer
Programs: Acupuncture, Nursing, Occupational Therapy, Optometry, Physician Assistant Studies, Physical Therapy, Pharmacy

During MCPHS's annual Interprofessional Education (IPE) Day, individuals that span the healthcare spectrum collaboratively discuss a topic applicable to all academic programs. This event allows students to better educate themselves (from a collaborative perspective) on issues relevant to the current state of healthcare.

Recently, the event's topic was the opioid crisis. Students learned about the epidemic's history, discussed ways to interprofessionally mitigate the problem, and were instructed on how to assemble a naloxone nasal spray device.

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Will to Live: Meet William, Sepsis Survivor

William Lautzenheiser, Sepsis Survivor, Speaks at Schwartz Center Educational Rounds

At the Schwartz Center Educational Rounds, Will described his experience battling a condition that led to the amputation of both his arms and legs.

Read