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It wasn't a “typical” day in the classroom for over 850 Ohio State students on Friday, Sept. 24.
Instead, learners representing 16 academic programs gathered for the Office of Interprofessional Practice and Education's (OIPE) annual Community Cares Day. This event served as their first experience in real-world interprofessional collaboration.
Guided by nine faculty facilitators and over a dozen staff members, the experience brought the core concepts of interprofessional education to life. Interprofessional education is about learning to work with, from, and about other professions to achieve better health outcomes for all.
Putting teamwork into immediate action, students participated in a large-scale, team-based community service project: assembling personal hygiene care kits together. Every kit built by these interprofessional student teams will support hundreds of neighbors in need across central Ohio.
Community Cares Day served as the initial meeting for participants to connect with the interprofessional teams they’ll work with in the coming semesters. This was the first in a series of experiences intended to build a strong, practical foundation for collaborative learning.
The goals for this experience were: to provide learners with knowledge about collaborative practice and teamwork, and to demonstrate how community partners address factors that impact health and well-being (such as the conditions where people live, learn, and work).
“I loved learning about organizations throughout Columbus,” shared a student athletic trainer. “As someone [who] isn’t from Columbus and doesn’t know much about the city, it was good to learn about everything it has to offer and all the resources available for people who may need it.”
This event immediately connected students with that mission, which introduced them to over 40 professionals from over 20 local community organizations.
“I [learned] about professions that I didn’t know much about, and I saw how these professions could overlap to provide better patient care,” stated a genetic counseling student.
To date, Community Cares Day has been supported by over 3,000 Ohio State students. It sets the stage for participants to become compassionate, collaborative professionals who will be 21st century workforce ready.
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