Working with people in other fields helps healthcare students prepare to meet patients’ needs better.
Dr. Bonnie Slavych, assistant professor of communication sciences and disorders and speech language pathology at Missouri State University, wants to help students learn how teamwork can improve patient care. She will further this goal through her selection for the Council on Academic Programs in Communication Sciences and Disorders (CAPCSD) Simulation and Interprofessional Experience Community of Practice (CoP) 2026-27 cohort.
“I believe this opportunity will help me learn other people’s experiences, get ideas and ultimately strengthen what our students are learning,” Slavych said.
Working beyond disciplines
Healthcare professionals bring different skills, knowledge and perspectives to patient care. Slavych wants students to understand how these contributions work together to meet patients’ needs.
Through interprofessional education, students learn with and from students in other disciplines. For example, a speech-language student may assess a patient’s swallowing safety, while a dietetics student evaluates a patient’s nutritional needs. By sharing knowledge from their respective disciplines, students gain a more complete understanding of the patient’s needs and how to address them.
Slavych believes students who learn to work well as a team during their studies will carry that approach into their careers.
“If they’re in school and learning a team-based approach, they’ll go into the field expecting a team-based approach,” she said.
Looking at the whole patient
Simulation-based learning allows students to practice teamwork before entering the workforce. They are able to share what they know, consider other perspectives and recognize when to involve another healthcare professional.
Slavych has seen the value of this approach in her own patient care experience. She once worked with an older woman who was losing weight. Although swallowing was the initial concern, the patient’s needs extended beyond it.
The care team also reviewed her medications and relationships with her adult daughters. The case showed how multiple factors can affect a patient’s health and require attention from different healthcare professionals.
“We need to be able to have a shared language, so the needs of the patient are best met,” Slavych said.
Bringing fresh insights back
Through the CAPCSD CoP cohort, Slavych will engage with other educators over the next year to explore ways to use simulation in their programs.
Through Zoom meetings and group discussions, she aims to identify practical strategies to strengthen interprofessional education at Missouri State and prepare students for team-based patient care.
She also plans to share ideas for overcoming barriers to interprofessional education and fostering collaboration.
“How do we think outside the box to make something possible?” she said.
