Fall 2015 Perspectives

30 • NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY FORT LAUDERDALE While interprofessional education and practice are the current focus in health care literature, there is another aspect of professional development that often gets ignored. When physical therapy graduates enter the workplace, they are expected to work within a physical therapy department with other physical therapists, as well as other health professionals in the organization. The PTs are usually from different educational programs and, therefore, from different institu- tional cultures. Additionally, they need to quickly integrate into a team with a variety of person- alities, cultures, and clinical approaches. Over the past few years, six faculty members from the PT departments at NSU, the University of Miami, and Florida International University trained to become clinical directors for the Special Olympics Healthy Athlete Fun- Fitness Screening program. On April 12, several of the participating faculty members, along with 39 PT students from the 3 universities, collaborated on fitness-performance screenings at the Special Olympics tennis competi- tion at the University of Miami. This was done with the intent of creating harmonious relationships between the students while serving the community. Students were instructed to work in pairs with a student from a school other than their own as faculty members super- vised the students as a group. Working with the Special Olympians required patience, creativity, and a collaborative spirit to complete the screen- ings. Overall, 50 Special Olympians, with varying communication skills and physical abilities, were screened. Each athlete also received a customized exercise program to do on his or her own time. The involved faculty members plan on continuing with inter-university community service programming. The more opportunities that can be provided, the better prepared students can be for practice in the real world, while also fulfilling community needs. n Inter-University Service Learning 3 Universities + 3 PT Programs = 1 Unified Effort BY DEBRA F. STERN, D.P.T., D.B.A., PT, DIRECTOR OF CLINICAL EDUCATION