Projects & Highlights
Baylor Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy Partner with Students from UT-Southwestern for IPE Experience
For DPT 6220, Bracing, Orthotics & Prosthetics, Dr. Casey Unverzagt, Dr. Alicia White, and Mr. John Fergason led an IPE activity for ninety-four Baylor physical therapy students, nine occupational therapy students, and six prosthetics and orthotics students and residents from University of Texas Southwestern. Students and residents were presented with five different live patients with limb loss, each of varying degrees of function and co-morbidities. Small group breakouts were conducted as groups identified various characteristics of the patient’s case, including but not limited to: pre-injury levels of activity, rehab potential, pre-existing comorbidities, unique rehabilitation concerns, and psychosocial considerations. Emphasis was placed on the coordinated utilization of physical therapy, occupational therapy, and prosthetics in order to maximize patient outcomes. A highlight for all participants was the opportunity afforded to the patients to share about their interactions with their own health care team. Each patient spoke to how their care team worked together and how this relationship could have been improved.
Doctor of Physical Therapy and Prosthetic Residency students work with individuals who have experienced limb-loss.
In August 2021, nearly 100 Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students convened in Waco with six Prosthetic Residents and students from UT Southwestern Medical Center, as well as two prosthetists and five individuals with limb loss. Students, residents, and clinicians from both disciplines worked with individuals with limb loss ranging from a Paralympic athlete leaving for the Tokyo games later in the week to community ambulators who have endured diabetic-related amputations. The IPE experience focused on communication between physical therapists and prosthetists to optimize outcomes for clients with limb loss.
Feedback from one DPT student said it best, “I loved getting to work with patients and the prosthetic students during the onsite lab. This made everything we have learned real and truly helped me translate course material into clinic material. I feel much more confident after this.”
Master of Athletic Training and Family Nurse Practitioner Students work together to develop strategies for providing Culturally Competent Care.
Master of Athletic Training students were paired with Family Nurse Practitioner students to work through cases related to providing healthcare for people who are part of the LBGTQ+ community. Students reviewed video cases and met with each other to answer questions related to the video cases. The students reflected and summarized what they learned during the experience as it related to cultural competency and interprofessional care.
Students from the Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) program work with the Family Studies and Child Development students to promote interprofessional care of children at the Piper Center.
At the Piper Center, Speech Language Pathology (SLP) graduate student clinicians directed and instructed a book-sharing, language facilitation, for all classrooms. To do this, the students pushed into all six classrooms (based on age groups) to provide the facilitation. Children with diagnosed language delays or disorders and typically developing children benefited from this experience. The SLP students collaborated with the Piper Center directors and each classrooms’ teachers to make activities targeting vocabulary, phonological development, and emergent literacy. These are skills the SLP students know are important in a book sharing intervention but also align with the Piper Center’s child development philosophy, Reggio Emilia Approach, and behavior regulation philosophy, Conscious Discipline. The graduate clinicians also complete hearing and speech-language-communication screenings for all children enrolled at Piper Center annually.
Dr. Marsh-Bell and Dr. Hudson collaborate to provide an opportunity for Master of Athletic Training students to create an injured-athlete mental health protocol.
Master of Athletic Training students collaborated to create a protocol to address the mental health of injured athletes. Students then implemented these protocols through scheduled sessions with athletes.
Master of Public Health and Master of Athletic Training students collaborated to examine community public health issues.
The Master of Athletic Training and Public Health programs collaborated to distribute a survey examining the social determinants of health for a particular area of the community. The students then collaborated to find funding to rectify a particular concern identified during their investigation. This project created interprofessional collaboration and provided a service to the Waco community.