Interprofessional activities are at the forefront of healthcare education for graduate students in the College of Health and Human Sciences. Faculty and graduate students in audiology, physical therapy and speech-language pathology (SLP) joined forces to learn from and about each other’s area of expertise. 
“Early on in the semester, students were paired across disciplines,” said Sarah Greenhagen, clinical assistant professor and director of physical therapy clinical education. “They took turns touring each of our clinical facilities and learning about the three scopes of practice.”
In addition, Greenhagen said that students came together to participate in an interdisciplinary screening event, addressing their scopes of practice and demonstrating common tests and measures within their fields. Students welcomed the opportunity to showcase their skills and make connections.
“I think this is a great opportunity to meet students in other medical fields,” said third year physical therapy student, Sam Rasmussen.
Students said opportunities for interprofessional education challenge their critical thinking skills while allowing them to make valuable connections across the college.
“Within the physical therapy (PT) program, students are always so used to working with other PT students,” said Ismael Munez. “This experience (allowed us to) practice building rapport and being comfortable talking with other disciplines about medical needs.”
Audiology doctoral students completed screenings in hearing acuity, speech-in-noise, and balance under the supervision of NIU clinical audiologists Diane ScheckLong, Danica Billingsly, and Blythe Kitner.
An important learning component of the screening program was the determination of recommendations and discussion of how to prevent future problems.
“I enjoyed the screenings today,” said third year audiology student, Elizabeth Hill. “I found it interesting to hear the thoughts and perceptions physical therapy and speech-language pathology students have about audiology. I felt confident and it was nice to see the participants interested in what we do.”
Audiology student Clara Raab agreed.
“Having the ability to talk to other students in related professions is just a great way to connect and see people we really don’t get to talk to on a regular basis,” Raab said.
Billingsly, who is the audiology clinical coordinator, said that explaining their work to students from other areas is important for several reasons.
“Opportunities like this highlight to our students how much they already know and how much they have in common with the other health professions students,” Billingsly said. “That goes a long way toward reducing imposter syndrome and building community.”
Graduate students in speech-language pathology (SLP) were supervised by clinical faculty as they provided screenings in the areas of speech production/articulation, speech rate, social-pragmatic skills, voice, fluency, and expressive language.
“I really enjoyed getting to know all of the students and finding out about their passion and interest for their specific field,” said second year SLP student, Gracie Strohm.
Megan McKenna, clinical assistant professor and SLP clinical coordinator said the event was a unique and mutually beneficial opportunity for students.
“Newer cohorts from all three programs were able to learn from one another and make connections while older cohorts were able to experience a new clinical opportunity,” McKenna said.
First year SLP student Juliana Roza agreed.
“The student clinicians made the experience fun and welcoming,” Roza said. “They all had a confidence about them that portrayed true knowledge of their respective fields, and I’m sure they will all go on to become wonderful physical therapists and audiologists.”
School of Allied Health and Communicative Disorders chair, Sherrill Morris, said they’re committed to giving students opportunities like this.
“Interdisciplinary collaboration in the workplace improves patient outcomes and employee satisfaction,” Morris said. “By offering experiences throughout the academic program, students become more comfortable with their own knowledge and confident in collaborating with and referring to others.”
Learn more about audiology, physical therapy and speech-language pathology at NIU.
