College of Health Professions

Interprofessional Education

Interprofessional Courses and Activities at Rosalind Franklin University

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) and the National Academics of Practice (NAP) have  stressed that health care should be rendered by interprofessional healthcare partners working collaboratively for patient care. At Rosalind Franklin University we also stress the importance of interprofessional health care through our university mission:

“To serve the nation through the education of health and biomedical professionals and the discovery of knowledge dedicated to improving the health of its people”

as well as through our goal to “Develop collaborative delivery of care models to facilitate curriculum integration.” As part of this goal, the Interprofessional Healthcare Teams course was developed. All incoming students – approximately 410 – participate in this experiential learning opportunity to interact in healthcare teams focusing on patient centered care emphasizing evidence based practice, quality improvement strategies and informatics. Students are divided into 26 interprofesisonal teams with a faculty mentor for discussion sessions. The culminating activity is a service learning project.

Students from various programs come together for several other courses while at Rosalind Franklin. For example: Medical students and graduate students take molecular Cell Biology, Histology, Embryology and Medical Biochemistry to name a few of the over 14 courses shared by the students. Medical, Podiatric and Pathologists’ Assistant students learn together in General and Systemic Pathology. Physician Assistant, Physical Therapy and Pathologists’ Assistant students study leadership and anatomy together. Other on campus and on line courses are shared by students in various departments and programs.

Interprofessionalism is not only promoted through classes and service projects and but also through student government, clubs, and social activities. Our student council, and our clubs are open to students from all programs. We encourage all of our students to be active in the student government and clubs and to participate in the various service opportunities and social activities while at Rosalind Franklin University. Even our buildings promote interprofessional interaction. We have one library, one student union, one computer lab, shared housing and shared classrooms.

We hope that Interprofessionalism will become more than just a concept for you, we hope that it will become a way of life. Through interaction in your classes, social, and governmental activities we hope that you will come to know students from a variety of professional programs and develop an understanding and respect for the interprofessional collaborative healthcare team.