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SALEM, MASS. – An event series this spring will serve as a powerful cross-disciplinary experience for students throughout ����ֱ��’s College of Health and Human Services.

The Maguire Meservey College of Health and Human Services’ Interprofessional Event Series kicks off on Monday, Feb. 24 and will run through Wednesday, April 30, with six events planned along the way. Each event brings together students of different professional branches of healthcare, tasking them with considering perspectives other than their own when working toward positive healthcare outcomes.

“Our main mission is to get all students within all healthcare professions at the university to learn more from each other, with each other, and about each other, while they’re still in our programs,” said Jeramie Silveira, chairperson of the university’s occupational therapy department. “What the Institute of Medicine has found is that if students are trained in traditional silos and don’t have interprofessional learning opportunities, healthcare outcomes are poor. Interprofessional collaboration leads to better teamwork, incorporation of diverse professional perspectives, and fewer mistakes.”

The series kicks off Monday, Feb. 24 at 5:30 pm with a session titled “The Role of interprofessional Teams in Postsecondary Transition.” The event will explore the critical intersection of healthcare, education, and social services in supporting successful postsecondary transitions for people with disabilities who age out of services as adults.

“Students with intellectual or developmental disabilities often receive therapeutic services and support programs throughout high school. However, when they turn 22, many of these services abruptly end. At this point, they frequently struggle to find jobs that match both their interests and training. Access to other important support programs also becomes limited,” Silveira explained. “Our goal is to work with their entire support team – including occupational therapists, special education teachers, speech therapists, physical therapists, and vocational specialists – to better prepare these students for life after graduation. By doing so, we aim to ensure they have meaningful opportunities available when they complete their education.”

The series continues Monday, March 24 with “Strategies for Compassionate Care for Patients with Disabilities.” From there, it expands into several events held throughout April, concluding with “Drivers Rehabilitation” on Wednesday, April 30.

“We try in all our series to have different events that are of interest to social workers, masters of athletic training students, nurses, and occupational therapists, so that all our professional students can find topics that interest them,” Silveira said. “These are great introductory events that are low-stakes for the students.”

All events are free, open to the public, and will take place on Zoom. Visit this page for more information and a list of events.