Although social workers are frequently part of interdisciplinary teams in health care and community settings, interdisciplinary training is often lacking in social work education (Berg-Weger & Schneider, 1998). This article describes a study of the effects of an interdisciplinary community-based experiential course preparing new health care professionals for work as part of interdisciplinary teams. The interdisciplinary curriculum was established for a summer course taught in 2006 by faculty from five disciplines: social work, nutrition, medicine, nursing, and public health. The course, Quality Improvement in Rural Healthcare, which focused on health literacy in people with a diagnosis of diabetes that live in northeast Tennessee, provided a model environment for learning interdisciplinary teamwork. Evaluation of this course found that social work students displayed a statistically significant increase in positive attitude toward interdisciplinary teamwork. Course strengths, weaknesses, obstacles, and opportunities for curriculum improvement are elaborated.
Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ETSU/oai:dc.etsu.edu:etsu-works-7622 |
Date | 11 October 2008 |
Creators | Lennon-Dearing, Robin, Florence, Joe, Garrett, Linda, Click, Ivy A., Abercrombie, Suzanne |
Publisher | Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University |
Source Sets | East Tennessee State University |
Detected Language | English |
Type | text |
Source | ETSU Faculty Works |
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