The University of Tennessee College of Social Work (UTCSW) is excited to announce an innovative, interprofessional partnership with Vanderbilt University and Lipscomb University. The Vanderbilt Interprofessional Health Education Collaborative (VIPHEC) is a groundbreaking initiative that brings together students from social work, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, counseling, and marriage and family therapy to engage in collaborative learning, preparing them for success in today’s complex healthcare environment. VIPHEC builds on the foundation of the Vanderbilt Program for Interprofessional Learning (VPIL), a similar program that was transformed into the current initiative.
VIPHEC is especially valuable for social work students seeking to enhance their skills in interprofessional collaboration, teamwork, communication, and ethics. The program provides a unique platform for exploring the intersection of different disciplines and their influence on healthcare systems and patient outcomes.
“This partnership represents a bold step forward for graduate education in Nashville,” said Allison Diehl, UTCSW Clinical Assistant Professor who manages the social work component of the program. “By fostering collaboration across disciplines, VIPHEC is equipping the next generation of professionals with the tools they need to deliver holistic care and drive positive change in their communities.” Dr. Charlotte Brown, Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, and Dr. Abbie Burka, Associate Dean of Assessment at Lipscomb University College of Pharmacy, serve as co-directors of the program and have been instrumental leaders in its development.
Thirteen UTCSW students from the Nashville and online MSSW programs have enrolled in the VIPHEC program, which meets in person once a month throughout the academic school year. As part of their collaborative activities, students attend seminars that include guest speakers, team learning activities, panel discussions, case-based work, didactic sessions, team-based projects, patient interviews, and small-group discussions. Through these activities, as well as patient simulations, social work students learn to collaborate with other professions to improve client and community outcomes.
For social work students, identifying their role as part of an interprofessional team helps determine and showcase what social workers can contribute. By adopting a strengths-based, person-in-environment perspective and applying social work values, social work students contribute an important skillset and value to other disciplines that might otherwise be overlooked.
Diehl is excited that the UTCSW students have this collaborative opportunity. “The benefits of this type of partnership for our students are immeasurable,” Diehl said. “Not only do they gain hands-on experience with many other disciplines they might not have interacted with otherwise, but they also earn hours toward their field education and build connections that could last a lifetime. We are very grateful to the partner schools for this program.”
Vanderbilt University, Lipscomb University, and the University of Tennessee are partners in this interprofessional education opportunity, which is hosted at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.