Waterloo Optometry students will travel to London, Ontario on March 9th for Interprofessional Education (IPE) Day 2020. They’ll join students from a wide variety of disciplines to explore professional roles while building their communication skills and a better understanding of collaborative practice.
Since the inaugural event in 2016, IPE Day has welcomed 2,495 students and more than 200 facilitators at two venues. In 2020, the event is expected to engage the largest cohort ever; more than 800 students in London and 200 students in Windsor will participate. IPE Day brings together students in medicine, dentistry, nursing, occupational therapy, pharmacy, physical therapy, optometry, social work and nutrition. Facilitators representing all of these health professions will guide students through afternoon activities including role clarification exercises and a case discussion.
The event will begin with an assembly at Alumni Hall (12:30p.m.) at Western University where a moderated panel discussion will highlight interprofessional teams. The panel includes representatives from the London InterCommunity Health Centre as well as practitioners from Kitchener with expertise in refugee/newcomer health.
IPE Day is financially supported by participating programs at Western University, the University of Waterloo, their affiliated University Colleges, and the SouthWestern Academic Health Network (SWAHN). For more information, please visit the SWAHN website.
Photo credit: Alana Rigby, School of Pharmacy, University of Waterloo