As part of the upcoming Meharry-Vanderbilt Alliance Interdisciplinary Clinical Case Competition, students from Meharry Medical College, Vanderbilt and the University of Tennessee visited the Vanderbilt Center for Experiential Learning and Assessment on Wednesday to examine patients, portrayed by actors. The students are, from left, Tiffany Clay, Ann Cooper and Stephen Kappa. (photo by Joe Howell)
VU, Meharry students set for clinical case competition
The Meharry-Vanderbilt Alliance will hold its second Interdisciplinary Clinical Case Competition on Wednesday, Feb. 23, at the S.S. Kresge Building at Meharry Medical College.
The competition, which starts at 5 p.m., challenges three teams of students from eight different disciplines to solve a complex, simulated clinical case.
Members of each team must work together to determine the best collective approach for patient care. The final round of competition will allow the teams to publicly present their cases before a panel of faculty judges.
The ICCC works to highlight the value of teamwork and importance of an interdisciplinary approach in patient care.
The eight disciplines represented include Vanderbilt Schools of Medicine, Nursing, Law and Dietetic Internship Program along with Meharry Schools of Medicine, Dentistry and MSPH Program and the University of Tennessee Colleges of Pharmacy and Graduate Social Work. Each team is comprised of nine students, who are all in their final year of training.
“The Alliance is sponsoring this event because it is an excellent vehicle to bring together students from various disciplines to expose them to the perspective and value of other disciplines,” said Susanne Brinkley, the Alliance’s director of Medical Education .
“This experience may impact the attitudes of these students and others on all campuses.
“There is also an interdisciplinary faculty team that has worked together for a year to define the case for the three student teams and to assure a highlighted role for their particular discipline. The ICCC is a great way to enhance the educational experience of the students and to broaden their training,” she said.
The ICCC is modeled after a longstanding event held at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in Houston. Vanderbilt's Elizabeth Heitman, Ph.D., associate professor of Medicine and Anesthesiology, and Bettina Beech, MPH, Dr. P.H., associate professor of Medicine, introduced the idea of the competition to the Alliance. Beech was a member of the 1994 winning team in Houston.