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Conference looks to nurse synergy among majors

Tennessee Tech University’s Whitson-Hester School of Nursing is considering a potential curriculum change in the near future involving other majors.

After attending an interdisciplinary collaboration conference in Chicago, professors in the nursing program considering redesigning the typical clinical setting. The collaboration conference was geared toward simulating a real world scenario with different professions working alongside each other to treat a patient with varying needs. Attempting to demonstrate a collaborative effort, simulations were designed at the conference to illustrate the need for a productive partnership of separate majors.

“The neat thing about the conference when we left we sort of had a plan of what we wanted to do,” said assistant professor Susan Reeves.

Tech’s nursing program is hopeful about the possibilities this conference offered for their programs and others alike. Reeves described a clinical setting where students of different fields of study would work together to fully treat a patient. Treating a patient involves several different professions, not just nurses.

Reeves and her co-workers see the potential in the project. She hopes to eventually see nursing students working alongside nutrition or social work students.

“At this point right now, we are thinking of it as pilot project,” said Reeves.

Within the next semester, the nursing program hopes to test their new collaboration clinical. Working with different colleges, students will perform in a clinical setting to see the what the effects are of working collaboratively. Reeves is positive about the reality of the project.

Believing in the faculty of TTU, Reeves said this dream can take reality with the support of students and faculty. As far as implementing an actual class, Reeves is unsure of when that will take place.

“We can do this,” said Reeves. “We don’t have to be a big fancy medical school. We could really do this.”