Inter-professional Education Projects (2)
In my first semester, I was assigned to an interdisciplinary team consisting of 4 other students, 2 nursing and 2 doctor of physical therapy students. Our goal was to create an effective, informational brochure for Type I diabetic patients. Each discipline had a different perspective on this topic. To eliminate a delayed start on the project, I immediately took initiative and contacted all of the group members and set a team meeting. During this meeting, I determined that the other students were not ready to take an active leadership role, and therefore, I became the team leader. To best manage the project, I set up weekly meetings with the team to brainstorm, express ideas, establish weekly expectations, and set deadlines to meet our goal. The team successfully achieved the objectives of the project.
In my second semester, I was assigned to a team of dental hygiene students. Our goal was to bridge the gap between public health theory and dental health practice by cooperatively working together to solve a complex community healthcare access problem during the COVID-19 pandemic. Similar to my first semester, I initiated first contact with my new dental hygienist colleagues to get the project started. It seemed they were not eager to take a team lead role, however, instead of being a single team leader this time, I decided to delegate sections and let one person be a lead for the assigned section. It was manageable and allowed my colleagues to develop leadership skills.
Both of the Inter-professional Education projects allowed me to reflect on what worked and what didn’t, in my leadership role. I found that in the first project, I didn’t delegate enough work to each student, resulting in most of the work falling to me to complete. I believe that my approach in the second semester allowed for a more equal split of the work and better communication of expectations to the team.
Leadership outside of the classroom
I am a Coast Guard Reservist and was recalled to Active Duty to U. S. Coast Guard Training Center Yorktown during my time in the MPH program. I filled 3 leadership roles over my 16 months on Active Duty orders, two of which, I was able to utilize my newly acquired knowledge and skill sets from the MPH program. I managed barracks operations for students. It was logistically challenging, but I fostered cooperative relationships with all of the departments involved. I proposed solutions that involved using clear communication tools in order to reduce confusion among staff and students during quarantine and isolation. My final position was leading the large scale COVID-19 testing operation on base to screen all incoming students, all instructors, and personnel that would be in contact with cohorts of students. My expertise in laboratory science contributed to this position. I trained and managed a team of 9 reservists from non-medical backgrounds. Being able to communicate with members about their concerns with frequent testing, test interpretation, and vaccines was key in this role. I had to stay up-to-date with the science and misinformation to best respond to member’s concerns.
In all of my roles, I recognized that active listening was a very large part of building relationships and functional teams. My entire experience through the MPH program happened during the pandemic. Two thousand twenty was a year of uncertainty and many changes. I remained sensitive to my colleagues in what they were experiencing, as we all process things differently. I believe this type of environment removes stress and blocks in communication and cooperation.