School of Allied Health Sciences Hosts Interprofessional Learning Event

An interprofessional-learning event hosted by the School of Allied Health Sciences brought in attendance from both the School of Allied Health Sciences and the School of Medicine. The event called “Management of Vestibular and Balance Disorders” worked to both educate attendees about vestibular issues, as well as demonstrate the effectiveness of an interprofessional network of health care providers working together to solve patients’ problems.

The event consisted of two parts. The first component was a background lecture over vestibular issues presented by Steven Zupancic, Au.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor, and Amanda Rodriguez, Au.D., an audiologist and Ph.D. student in the Communication Sciences and Disorders program. The vestibular system is comprised of parts of the inner ear and brain that are responsible for controlling balance and coordinating eye movement. Various diseases, environmental factors or injuries can cause vestibular disorders.

After hearing the lecture, students were broken into groups, including teammates from each professional program. The groups worked together to review example cases to reach a diagnosis and create an interprofessional treatment plan. Students received guidance from facilitators from the School of Allied Health Sciences, the School of Medicine, the School of Pharmacy, the School of Nursing and the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences to work through the cases.

Students who attended gained valuable insight about working in an interprofessional team to help patients and were able to see first-hand how interprofessional teamwork can effectively solve problems.