March 18, 2018

Nursing students in Doha participate in an inter-professional education day

IPE Day brought together students from nursing, medicine, nutrition, pharmacy and public health across four universities in Doha
Faculty of Nursing students on exchange earlier this month at University of Calgary-Qatar got to experience an inter-professional education (IPE) day with students across four universities in across different disciplines including nursing, medicine, nutrition, pharmacy and public health.

Faculty of Nursing students on exchange at University of Calgary-Qatar.

Faculty of Nursing students currently on exchange at University of Calgary-Qatar got to experience an inter-professional education (IPE) day, Doha-style earlier this month.

Organized by an instructor from Qatar University, students from five disciplines – nursing, medicine, nutrition, pharmacy and public health - and four universities participated in this important collaborative event that tested their ability to communicate effectively within and also outside their area of expertise.

Justin Burkett, faculty advisor to the students, coordinated the involvement of Isabella Adams, Lily Bailey and Kristen Jensen, all fourth year students. 

Working in small groups with at least one representative from each profession, the women, together with the 150 others participating, were presented cases around communication breakdown leading to potentially negative consequences. Drawing on their educational backgrounds, knowledge and experiences, they worked together to discover where the breakdowns occurred, being mindful not to place blame solely on one individual or profession, and then devised creative and collaborative solutions to ensure safe and positive clinical outcomes. 

“I was really proud of how Isabella, Lily and Kristen worked together,” Burkett says.  “Coming from an environment that fosters collaboration between health disciplines, our visiting Canadian students were able to provide meaningful contributions in their teams and to all participants during today’s event.”