Pitt Community College health sciences students took part in training last week that gave them a better perspective of the teamwork that goes into providing quality patient care.

Held Sept. 29, “Interprofessional Simulation Day” involved students from PCC’s cardiovascular sonography, emergency medical science, medical sonography, nursing, occupational therapy assistant (OTA), radiography and respiratory therapy programs. After separating into multidisciplinary teams, the students rotated through training stations representative of the various participating curricula.

“While one group was learning from second-year respiratory therapy students about different types of oxygen therapy equipment they may encounter with patients, another was learning from OTA students how to safely transfer patients from a bed to a wheelchair and back to a bed,” said PCC Health Sciences Dean Donna Neal. “It was an opportunity for students to learn more about the roles and responsibilities of various members of the health care team and to learn skills from their peers in other health care curricula that can benefit them in their own programs of study.”

Neal said PCC health sciences faculty developed the training several years ago but discontinued it while campus was closed during the pandemic. With everyone back on campus this fall, she said it was time to resume the instruction, which has proven very beneficial to students and garnered positive feedback from participants.

“There’s probably no better way to help students appreciate the roles other health care team members play in patient care than to allow them to experience it from other team members’ perspectives,” she said, adding that faculty use pre- and post-event testing to assess the joint training’s value.