EMU Today

YPSILANTI –The Eastern Michigan University College of Health and Human Services (CHHS) will virtually host more than 200 students and faculty from eight different CHHS programs in the largest interprofessional education gathering to take place through EMU to date, the EMU Excellence in IPE event.

The event will take place from 3-5 p.m. on Friday, November 13. The purpose of the EMU Excellence in IPE event is to expose participants to interprofessional education and examine an actual case study where interprofessional practice – collaboration between professionals from various healthcare areas - is in place. Students are not expected to be experts, but be active participants in the activity with students from other disciplines.

During the event, the students will explore the case study of Sean, a local 51-year-old from Livonia who contracted COVID-19 in late March before suffering from a stroke almost two weeks into his quarantine.

Sean’s recovery included months of rehabilitation with a number of different medical specialists. On June 12, 64 days after he arrived at the inpatient therapy facility to begin his recovery, he was discharged to an emotional Clap Out.

His therapy continues at home with the help of his doctors, and he is also a part of the Speech Aphasia Program at University of Michigan. His recovery would not have been possible without the dedication of the multiple medical specialists that were involved in getting him to where he is today.

The event will feature a panel comprised of the healthcare team members that cared for Sean. A Q&A portion of the panel will allow students to gain valuable insight into the importance of collaboration between medical professionals. Students will also be divided into interdisciplinary teams to discuss the case and talk to other students in different disciplines.

The EMU Excellence in IPE event was created in lieu of the 2020 annual IPE Simulation Day, where students would normally get to work in simulated medical situations in person. The 2020 IPE SIM Day was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however the CHHS hopes to make the EMU Excellence in IPE an annual event hosted in addition to the annual SIM day moving forward.

The IPE Simulation Day, which normally takes place in half day sessions at the Rackham building on EMU’s campus and the EMU & St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor Simulation center on the hospital’s campus, is a simulation exercise that allows students from each of the different majors of EMU’s CHHS to work with one another while treating a standardized patient in a realistic, safe situation.

Participants are normally divided into teams comprised of students from the different disciplines to plan and treat a patient who is admitted to the hospital following an injury.

The event is part of EMU’s Interprofessional Education (IPE) initiative, a collaborative approach to develop healthcare students as future interprofessional team members. IPE fosters an educational culture that provides pre-professional learning opportunities that integrate disciplines and teach the teamwork approach to patient/client care.

To learn more about the event, contact EMU Associate Professor and Co-Director of Nursing and IPE Simulation//EMU Excellence in IPE, Kathy Seurynck, at kseurync@emich.edu or EMU Associate Professor and Co-Director of Nursing and IPE Simulation/EMU Excellence in IPE, Linda Myler, at lmyler@emich.edu.

About Eastern Michigan University

Founded in 1849, Eastern is the second oldest public university in Michigan. It currently serves more than 16,000 students pursuing undergraduate, graduate, specialist, doctoral and certificate degrees in the arts, sciences and professions. In all, more than 300 majors, minors and concentrations are delivered through the University's Colleges of Arts and Sciences; Business; Education; Engineering and Technology; Health and Human Services; and, its graduate school. EMU is regularly recognized by national publications for its excellence, diversity, and commitment to applied education. For more information about Eastern Michigan University, visit the University's website.