“The earlier interprofessional education is introduced in nursing education, the better off the students will do in all settings – from the classroom to the hospital and the community,� said Heather Peralta, an adjunct instructor at the College of Nursing who established the student-led interprofessional clinic for farmworkers in the Apopka community.

Preparing a “collaborative practice-ready� health care workforce is necessary, according to the World Health Organization. WHO, along with the landmark Institute of Medicine “Future of Nursing� report, the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education and the National League for Nursing, have acknowledged interprofessional collaboration – from education to delivery – is key to health care’s future. It provides safer, quality care that is more efficient and cost effective, improving patient outcomes and ultimately the health of the community.

Multiple collaborative learning programs

Through interprofessional education, students learn interdisciplinary communication skills, an understanding of the roles and scopes of practice of each discipline, and develop mutual trust and respect.

Opportunities for interprofessional education are available for undergraduate and graduate students, and include hands-on clinical experiences, collaborative patient care and clinical scenarios followed by interactive discussion, and simulated learning.

For example, graduate students in the Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner program collaborate with students from the Athletic Training program annually in a one-day event to learn to assess, diagnose and manage sports-related acute conditions such as concussions and spinal injuries.

“Students have learned a tremendous amount from the experience,� said Christopher W. Blackwell, associate professor and director of the adult-gerontology acute care nurse practitioner program. “It is essential because all nurses, whether practicing at the bedside or in an advanced practice role, have to work with professionals in other disciplines to provide patient care.�

Nursing instructor Nancy Duckworth organizes three interprofessional education events annually where undergraduate nursing students from the Orlando and Cocoa campuses collaborate with students from the College of Medicine, the School of Social Work, the Physical Therapy program and the º£½ÇÖ±²¥ of Florida College of Pharmacy in Orlando. In a recent training, students worked together leveraging their unique skill sets and knowledge to create a comprehensive wellness care plan for geriatric patients. “Working as a team allows everyone a chance to feel valued and participate as an active member of patient care to ultimately improve outcomes,â€� said Duckworth.

Through these learning experiences, students also gain confidence in their skills and abilities. Nursing student Barbara King of Merritt Island, Florida, participated in three interprofessional education events, including one at the College of Medicine focused on global health care. The event included three simulated workshops – improvised medicine, mass triage and prisoner’s health care. “This is a great way for other professions to see what nurses are experts in and vice versa,� said King, who graduated with her Bachelor of Science in Nursing earlier this month. “For example, I was able to teach my group the proper way to measure someone for an NG tube and check placement afterward, while I was able to learn from others the proper way to apply assistive devices such as tourniquets and splints.�

When multiple disciplines come together to care for patients, the community also benefits. In the future, communities will reap the rewards of these “collaborative practice-ready� professionals – like the one in Central Florida is already. Since July 2016, more than 80 students have provided free health care to more than 450 patients in an underserved community of Apopka. The interprofessional education program has received national recognition from the U.S. Public Health Service and Interprofessional Education Collaborative.

Forging a bright future together

These efforts are just the beginning. As one of the nation’s largest universities, UCF is leveraging its strengths in health care to create an Academic Health Sciences Center at Lake Nona Medical City in Orlando.

This unique interdisciplinary center will bring together the College of Medicine, College of Nursing, and a new College of Health Professions and Sciences on the 50-acre, state-of-the-art UCF Health Sciences campus at the global destination for medical innovation in Lake Nona.

Through the Academic Health Sciences Center, UCF will continue to be at the forefront of health care education. “The eventual move to Lake Nona will provide our students even greater opportunity to work more closely as a team with other health care disciplines,� said Duckworth.

“Being a part of the new Academic Health Sciences Campus is so important as we will be able to do more interprofessional education, working together for the betterment of all communities in Florida and beyond,� adds Peralta.

Angela Ritten, a faculty member in the College of Nursing, who was the recipient of a Certificate of Merit in the category of Faculty New Advisor.

Jesse Sunski, coordinator of Freshman Explorations in First Year Advising and Explorations, who was honored as an outstanding new advisor in the category of New Advisor-Primary Role.

Kristen Schellhase, director of the Bachelor of Science in Athletic Training program and interim director of the Health Professions department, who received a Certificate of Merit in the category of faculty advisor.

Layla Archer, assistant director of Undergraduate Student Services in the College of Health & Public Affairs, who was recognized as a top advisor in the category for employees whose primary role is advising.

The College of Engineering and Computer Science, which earned a Certificate of Merit for Outstanding Program for their Academic Alert program.

UCF’s medal winners represent ten sports programs. The women’s rowing team led the way with six student-athletes, followed closely by the women’s soccer and softball teams with five each.

At least 32 Knights have earned medals during three of the last four years.

“Achieving a GPA of 3.75 or higher is a tremendous accomplishment for our student-athletes, who work hard in their classes while balancing the rigorous demands of their sports,” said Vice President and Director of Athletics Todd Stansbury. “The fact that so many of our student-athletes have earned academic recognitions from Conference USA is a testament to their determination and the support of our dedicated faculty members, coaches and academic advisors.”

C-USA announced its academic honor roll (3.0 GPA or better) Tuesday, and 221 Knights were on the list. That total ranked second among all C-USA schools and first among the league’s public institutions.

UCF’s student-athletes have collectively achieved a GPA of at least 3.0 for each of the last eight semesters.

In October, UCF posted a program-best 83 percent Graduation Success Rate, which tied with the º£½ÇÖ±²¥ of Florida for the top rating among Florida’s public universities.

UCF’s academic medal winners are listed below in alphabetical order by sport:

Football: Jacob Bundy (Business Economics) and  (Social Science Education master’s program)

Men’s Golf: Ìı(µş³Ü²õ¾±²Ô±ğ²õ²õ-±è±ğ²Ô»å¾±²Ô²µ)

Women’s Rowing: Jesse Baldwin (Communication Science and Disorders), (Finance), (Elementary Education with a Coaching minor), Kelsey McCreary (Cinema Studies), Beatriz Merino (Pre-Clinical Allied Health with a Spanish minor) and  (Sport and Exercise Science/Psychology)

Men’s Soccer: Augusto Braccialli (Civil Engineering), (Psychology), (Molecular and Microbiology) and Ìı(±Ê²õ²â³¦³ó´Ç±ô´Ç²µ²â)

Women’s Soccer: (Biomedical Sciences), (Public Administration/Nonprofit Management), (Psychology), (Biology) and  (Communication Sciences and Disorders)

Softball: (Early Childhood Education), (Hospitality Management), (Elementary Education), (µş¾±´Ç±ô´Ç²µ²â)Ìı²¹²Ô»å  (Mathematics Education)

Men’s Tennis: (Finance-pending) and  (Interdisciplinary Studies with a Math minor)

Women’s Tennis:  (Communication Sciences and Disorders)

Track and Field: (Undeclared), (Athletic Training), (Elementary Education) and Ìı(±Ê³ó¾±±ô´Ç²õ´Ç±è³ó²â)

Volleyball: (Marketing) and  (Molecular Biology and Microbology)

The board voted to add two new programs to the university’s academic offerings. A masters of science in Real Estate, which will be implemented in Spring 2010, will consist of 30 credit hours of graduate-level course work.

A mandate from the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education led to the transformation of UCF’s current health sciences-athletic training tracks into a bachelor of science in Athletic Training.

Trustees also heard that the projected 3,800 new freshmen who started classes this semester posted an average high school GPA of 3.8 and an average SAT score of 1225, both the best in UCF’s history, according to preliminary enrollment data.