Western Kentucky University
WKU’s Clinical Education Complex: Collaborative Training in a Multidisciplinary Setting
Institution
Western Kentucky University
Faculty Advisor/ Mentor
Mary Lloyd Moore; Richard Dressler; Frank Kersting; Lisa Murphy
Abstract
Western Kentucky University supports multidisciplinary training. To that end, the Clinical Education Complex houses 6 programs: Speech, Language and Hearing Clinic, Acquired Brain Injury Resource Program, Family Counseling Center, Early Childhood Center, Family Resource Program, and the Kelly Autism Program. In this setting, students have the opportunity to not only acquire necessary skills in their discipline but to also learn critical teaming concepts. As graduates, these students learn not only requisite discipline clinical skills but also the importance of collaborative service provision to assist families in raising their children. For example, when a family with an autistic child enrolls in the Kelly Autism Program, that family may also participate in the SpeechLanguage Clinic as well as Family Counseling. Students have the opportunity to work with faculty from other disciplines, as well as with other students. Training in such a milieu provides students with a philosophical perspective of collaboration and team service provision as they accept roles in schools, as well as health care and medical settings. In the first 4 months of operation, there has been a conscious effort on the part of the faculty to build these collaborative teams to provide comprehensive services to families and their children. An initial survey of students captures their perspective on teaming and collaboration. A survey a year later will determine the degree of change in students’ perceptions on teaming and collaboration. Students who are actively engaged in the teaming process will be surveyed separately to determine their perceptual change as differentiated from students not actively engaged in the process. The question is: do student perceptions of teaming and collaboration change as result of proximity or are more active measures required. The poster will present information on the Clinical Education Complex’s programs as well as initial survey results.
WKU’s Clinical Education Complex: Collaborative Training in a Multidisciplinary Setting
Western Kentucky University supports multidisciplinary training. To that end, the Clinical Education Complex houses 6 programs: Speech, Language and Hearing Clinic, Acquired Brain Injury Resource Program, Family Counseling Center, Early Childhood Center, Family Resource Program, and the Kelly Autism Program. In this setting, students have the opportunity to not only acquire necessary skills in their discipline but to also learn critical teaming concepts. As graduates, these students learn not only requisite discipline clinical skills but also the importance of collaborative service provision to assist families in raising their children. For example, when a family with an autistic child enrolls in the Kelly Autism Program, that family may also participate in the SpeechLanguage Clinic as well as Family Counseling. Students have the opportunity to work with faculty from other disciplines, as well as with other students. Training in such a milieu provides students with a philosophical perspective of collaboration and team service provision as they accept roles in schools, as well as health care and medical settings. In the first 4 months of operation, there has been a conscious effort on the part of the faculty to build these collaborative teams to provide comprehensive services to families and their children. An initial survey of students captures their perspective on teaming and collaboration. A survey a year later will determine the degree of change in students’ perceptions on teaming and collaboration. Students who are actively engaged in the teaming process will be surveyed separately to determine their perceptual change as differentiated from students not actively engaged in the process. The question is: do student perceptions of teaming and collaboration change as result of proximity or are more active measures required. The poster will present information on the Clinical Education Complex’s programs as well as initial survey results.