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Interprofessional Placement students contribute to health care agency

On Thursday, February 18th, 2010 a new pamphlet The Ontario Review Board and the Forensic System was released at the St. Joseph’s Health Care Regional Mental Health St. Thomas’ Forensic Unit site. This pamphlet was developed by three Occupational Therapy students – Katie Felix, Jenn Brewe, and Josh Chapman who were placed with their IPE Practice Facilitator Clark Heard, a staff member in the unit. It addresses what the board is, what are the status categories of clients as an outcome of these hearings, how the review board functions, and what are the possible outcomes for the client being reviewed. This work meets a goal of these IPE placements which is to have the students provide a service contribution to the agency in return for the learning opportunity provided by the staff and clients.

In this case Clark Heard mentioned to the student that many of their clients have low literacy rates and some have cognitive learning impairments that makes the complex legal language about their annual Ontario Review Board Hearings difficutl to understand. Prior to this work being done the agency did not have a simple pamphlet to help explain these hearings to those who were subjected to them. The students interviewed several members of the team to gain insight into their various roles within these reviews. As one of the social workers on the team commented “this process is very complex and difficult to understand” and further “it is impressive how the students were able to compress this information down into this pamphlet.”

During its development the students received ongoing guidance and critiques from their practice facilitator. They then had it tested on one of the clients to ensure it would meet the intended need. And today this pamphlet was released for use within the forensic service for their clients and families.

A goal of these interprofessional placements is for students to learn about the various roles, knowledge, skills, and expertise that groups of health professionals provide in collaborative teams within agency settings. This project and its outcome resulted in the goal achievement. The students commented on the value of the experience they gained in understanding the various team members roles which they see as an asset to their future practice.

Several of the team members present at the release commented on the value of this student contribution to their clients and families. One nursing staff member also shared her enthusiams about the interprofessional learning the students were gaining. She further commented about the lack in her previous preparation for the realities of practice.

For more information about the pamphlet please contact the IPHER office at (519) 661-2111x 82234 or for information about Inteprofessional student practice placements please check out the resource secton on our website www.ipe.uwo.ca.

Dr. Carole Orchard,
Coordinator, Interprofessional Health Education & Research

pictured above: Katie Felix, Jenn Brewe, Clark Heard, and Josh Chapman

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