Students enrolled in multiple disciplines and institutions at the Universities at Shady Grove (USG) participated in an Interprofessional Education (IPE) 8-week summer internship with the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). A multi-institutional faculty and staff workgroup created, developed and implemented the internship: Dr. Rebecca Wiseman, University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) School of Nursing; Dr. Joan Pittman, University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) School of Social Work; Dr. Heather Congdon, University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) School of Pharmacy; Dr. Diane Alonso, University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) Department of Psychology; Ms. Lynn Cook, University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP) School of Public Health Science; Ms. Katie Morris, University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC); Department of Social Work and Ms. Mary Lang, Chief Strategy Officer at USG. This project was funded in part by a grant from the University of Maryland Baltimore Center for Interprofessional Education.
A total of 16 students participated in the internship which ran from May 27th-July 20th. Two facilitators coordinated the curriculum development and programs: Ron Rivlin, DHHS Coordinator, and Katie Morris, Faculty Coordinator, University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) Department of Social Work.
The students who participated in the internship were: Eva Marsh (UMBC Psychology), Melanie Rush (UMBC Psychology), Neha Kumar (UMB Pharmacy), John Arthur (UMB Pharmacy), Alexander Hammer (UMB Social Work), Robin Stimson (UMB Social Work), Bethany Medley (UMBC Social Work), Stephanie Nguyen (UMBC Social Work), Michaela Onel (UMCP Public Health), Devika Sukhmangal (UMCP Public Health), Kristi Bragdon (UMB Nursing), Emily Zweig (UMB Nursing), Pamela Amegnaglo (UB Health Systems Management), Francoise Fuentes (UMCP Criminology and Criminal Justice), Julie Gray (UMCP Criminology and Criminal Justice), and Ibraheem Muhammad (UMCP Criminology and Criminal Justice).
The students experienced interdisciplinary teamwork by visiting several service agencies throughout Montgomery County (MC). The local service agencies that participated were: Linkages to Learning and School Based Health Center sites at Summit Hall Elementary; Family Justice Center; Avery Road Treatment Center; MC Detention Center and Behavioral Health and Corrections integrated services including the Clinical Assessment and Triage Program (CATS); MC Crisis Center; Pre-Release Center; Gude Drive Men's Shelter; Treehouse (Child Advocacy Center); The Juvenile Assessment Center (Juvenile Justice and Behavioral Health); Dennis Avenue Health Center (HIV and Communicable Diseases); and research was conducted on Adult Protective Services and Child Welfare.
The student’s final project included a presentation about their experiences with DHHS’s integrated approach and recommendations to help DHHS move forward in expanding integrated services. They also reflected on what the internship meant to them, some remarks included:
“This was a really eye opening experience for me, I enjoyed seeing all of the disciplines working together for a common goal, to help one client.” …… “When you replace ‘I’ with ‘We’ ‘illness’ becomes ‘wellness.’” …… “This has been a huge building block to my academic and professional career.” …… “You get a holistic view of your patient when working with cross-disciplines.” …… “I was really impressed with how much DHHS does for Montgomery County and I was amazed by the staff who provides these services every day. It makes me really happy I chose a service-centered discipline [nursing] and I will be able to help people.”
At the conclusion of the student presentations, DHHS Coordinator Ron Rivlin, reflected, “For the second year in a row we had a great group of students. They were smart, highly motivated, and very inquisitive. Through this learning experience, students were able to broaden their thinking about the many opportunities within their chosen profession, and how the different professions can work together to meet the multiple needs of their clients."
Front row left to right: Pamela Amegnaglo, Eva Marsh, Stephanie Nguyen, Devika Sukhmangal, Francoise Fuentes, Kristi Bragdon, Bethany Medley, Melanie Rush
Back row left to right: Michaela Onel, Robin Stimson, Ibraheem Muhammad, Alexander Hammer, Neha Kumar, Emily Zweig, John Arthur, Julie Gray