WCHHS deepens interprofessional collaboration

To share the range and impact of its many initiatives, the Waldron College of Health and Human Services (WCHHS) hosted the fourth annual Let's Get W.I.R.E.D. (Waldron Interprofessional Researchers Engaging in Dialogue) event.

WCHHS faculty, representing its five programs, and students gathered in Waldron Sept. 20 to informally chat about their projects and learn about those of their colleagues.

Normally a series of five-minute "speed" interviews between peers from nursing, occupational therapy, social work, physical therapy and communication sciences and disorders, this year’s program was expanded to feature an overview of the summer trip to Uganda by Masters of Social Work candidates, led by Assistant Professor of Social Work Deneen Evans, who spent almost two weeks in the African country working with and researching parents of children with disabilities.

Evans shared with her colleagues the value of the trip on preparing Social Work students to address global issues and how it engaged the students’ unique skills and flexible approaches to problem-solving a global issue in a place where people are economically oppressed and resource challenged. Secondary to the discussion among W.I.R.E.D. participants, plans to include other disciplines in a winter trip to Uganda  in the near future are already in the works.

Corey Cassidy, WCHHS associate dean, was struck by the passion of the participants and the potential for further such immersive experiences.

“We benefitted from a strong discussion and excellent networking across disciplines focused on service-learning as part of our college’s scholarship initiative,” said Cassidy. "Our roles in healthcare and human services consistently overlap and there are unlimited scholarship and service opportunities and perspectives to be explored in our college.”

The WCHHS also hosted its opening 2016-17 Character Campaign event on Sept. 23 in Heth Hall. Thirty five students and faculty participated in a panel discussion titled, “How we serve our community - health and human service professionals engaging together in service and working together.” The event featured faculty and student panelists who explored the various WCHHS professions and curricula and then fielded questions about the work and attendant challenges of the disciplines.

Both events, sponsored by the WCHHS Interprofessional Planning Committee and WCHHS Equity Committee, were part of the ongoing WCHHS efforts to encourage interdisciplinary or interprofessional approaches in health care and human services that culminate in the annual Waldron College Interprofessional Symposium and Expo in April.