Harper College is one of the nation’s premier community colleges and one of the largest, serving approximately 26,500 students annually in Chicago! The college offers many academic pathways including numerous programs of study for students seeking health careers. This dynamic learning environment also has a robust Interprofessional Education (IPE) Program where they offer an annual “IPE Immersion Day!
What is IPE About?
“Interprofessional education occurs when students from two or more professions learn about, from, and with each other to enable effective collaboration and improve health outcomes. Once students understand how to work interprofessionally, they are ready to enter the workplace as a member of the collaborativepractice team. This is a key step in moving health systems from fragmentation to a position of strength.”
Source: World Health Organization (WHO). (2010).
IPE includes four Core Competencies: Values and Ethics, Roles and Responsibilities, Interprofessional Communication, and Teams and Teamwork. And, there are many sub-competencies in each that require ‘soft’ skills. Skills that are essential for healthcare professionals and for which Medical Improv, when facilitated properly, is the perfect teaching modality.
So, when Harper College IPE Leaders (along with other roles), Rita Gura PT, DPT and Caitrin Sobota MSN, RN, CHSE reached out to discuss a Medical Improv workshop, my friend and colleague, Ellen Schnur, DTM, CP and I were happy to collaborate. That is the short story on how the 2025 IPE Immersion Day at Harper College became: Game Changing IPE Activities: An Experiential Learning Journey, a 2.5 hour session focused on teaching:
- Communication
- Empathy
- Flexibility
- Confidence
- Adaptability
- Confidence
- Asking for help
Exciting Results!
On the day of the event, 154 students and 15 faculty participated. They represented nine programs of study; Nursing, Phlebotomy, Dietetic Internship, Physical Therapy Assistant, Health Information Technology, Radiologic Technology, Diagnostic Sonography, and Dental Hygiene! Rita and Caitrin ensured they were assigned tables that were interdisciplinary.
The Pictures
Check out the engagement, thoughtfulness, joy, inclusion in the pictures in this post. There are plenty more if you follow the link below.
Photos from IPE Immersion Day Spring 2025 – Google Photos
They are not only talking and thinking about the skills, they are practicing them; together!
Post Assessment Highlights
After participating in the workshop:
- 91.8% of students indicated improvement in expressive skills such as; self-awareness, confidence asking for help, and giving feedback
- 92.6% of students indicated improvement with listening skills such as validating, perspective-taking, empathy, and receiving feedback
- 93.4% of students indicated improved understanding about the importance of practicing effective and respectful communication as a healthcare professional
Note: please reach out to Beth@bethboynton.com if you’d like to review more details of pre and post assessment results.
Take-homes!
Towards the end of the workshop, we asked participants at their interdisciplinary tables to:
- Discuss how the skills you’ve learned/experienced are relevant to your career paths.
- Designate a scribe & representative to report highlights!
- Make sure all voices are spoken, heard, and respected.
This resulted in a six page document with highlights of relevant skills like these:
- Be adaptive and flexible with change.
- Communication is of the utmost importance in healthcare.
- Being able to speak up and ask for help.
- Learning what your limits and boundaries are.
- Sometimes things get lost in translation – take time to document, communicate clearly, and relax yourself when you are under pressure.
- Don’t shut down ideas.
- Improve patient confidence – support their knowledge and how to express that information.
- Be inclusive.
- Accept feedback.
- Collaborate, be open minded.
- Ask for help, know your limits.
- Communication is of the utmost importance in the healthcare field.
- Being empathetic to others and yourself helps with collaboration and compassion.
- Closed-loop communication – repeating information back to ensure the information is correct.
- Know when to say “no.”
- Ask “how can I help and respect the limits of others”.
- Be empathetic and supportive.
- Be confident, ask questions.
Note: please reach out to Beth@bethboynton.com if you’d like to review the full list. Truly, it is amazing list!
Curious to learn more about how Medical Improv works? Please join Ellen and I for a free online event called : “YES AND” 101 for Healthcare & Mental Health Care Visionaries (2/7/25 from 1-2:30p EST is the next offering.)
Would you like to discuss the possibility of customizing a workshop for your students or staff? Please reach out to reach out to Beth@Bethboynton.com or ellen.schnur@improvtalk.com.
Lastly, feel free to explore many articles and resources about Medical Improv.
