Clinical Encounters

Catalog description

This course introduces students to a variety of local clinical environments. Instruction on the roles and responsibilities of various health care professionals is provided in the context of clinical practice and high fidelity simulation. Students are assigned to a clinical encounter each week which may be either on or off campus. The amount of time spent at each site varies with the experience but averages 3.5 hours. Students can expect to spend time with physicians, nurses, physician assistants, physical therapists, speech language pathologists, lactation consultants, ophthalmologists, dentists, pharmacists, nutritionists, case managers, recreation therapists, occupational therapists, athletic trainers, and administrators of long-term care facilities. Collectively, these experiences teach students the principles of interprofessional practice and includes many opportunities to apply these principles to patient-centered care above and beyond the traditional physician-PA team approach. This course assists students in learning the principles of interprofessional practice and includes opportunities for students to apply these principles in interprofessional teams.