Effect of Experiential Competency-Based Interprofessional Education on Pre-Professional Undergraduate Students: A Pilot Study.

The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an interdisciplinary faculty team-led competency-based interprofessional undergraduate course for health and human services pre-professional students. Today's complex health and social problems require inter-professional knowledge and skills. Most interprofessional education occurs in graduate-level healthcare programs.

Interprofessional practice and education: holistic approaches to complex health care challenges.

The incidence of chronic health conditions continues to rise worldwide. As a result, many groups and decision makers are calling for greater use of interprofessional health care teams and education to effectively address the social, psychological, biological, environmental, and economic dimensions inherent in these health care challenges. This article examines interprofessional practice (IPP) and interprofessional education (IPE) and addresses the following questions: (1) What is IPP; (2) What is IPE; (3) What competencies are necessary to effectively engage in IPP; (4) Who should be educated to serve on IPP health delivery teams; and (5) What educational model can best prepare health care professionals with the skills and practice experiences needed to address complex health issues in a comprehensive fashion? We propose a unique university-based IPE model that effectively addresses complex health issues and maximizes collaboration among clinical, nonclinical, and community stakeholders.

An innovative interprofessional education model to engage community and nonclinical participants.

Many institutions and individuals are encouraging use of interprofessional educational models to prepare future health care professionals who can effectively address complex healthcare needs in a dynamic healthcare environment. This report describes a seven-step model to plan and implement university-based interprofessional healthcare education. The model is unique in that it incorporates faculty and students from both clinical and nonclinical professional programs, administrators, as well as community partners into the interprofessional healthcare education deliberation and implementation process.

"Waves" of Asian Indian elderly immigrants: what can practitioners learn?

This article offers insight and recommendations to professionals working with the Asian Indian elderly population, and suggestions for future research on this rapidly growing segment of the US population. It compares and contrasts the experiences of three different "waves" of Asian Indian immigrants that migrated since 1965. In particular, the article explores the reasons for migration, the challenges faced following migration, legal status and cultural values among the three waves of Asian Indian immigrants and how these factors influenced each group's adaptation and experience in the USA as mature adults (over age 55).

Cross-cultural perspectives in thanatology: through a prism of religious faiths.

Recent decades have witnessed an increase in thanatology education in colleges and universities. However, the infusion into thanatology curricula of religious faiths as they affect behaviors, experiences and emotions of dying individuals and survivors is still in its infancy. In this article I describe an effective approach I have used to integrate various religious beliefs and practices into an undergraduate course on death and dying.