All first- and second-year students in the Rady Faculty take part in the IPCC curriculum, which covers the broader determinants of health, patient safety and helps breaks down traditional barriers between the health professions.

“We hope that this next generation of health-care professionals will see interprofessional collaborative care as a given and as an expectation in any workplace that they go to,” said Dr. Moni Fricke, director of the Rady Faculty’s Office of Interprofessional Collaboration, which coordinates the IPCC curriculum. “We hope that where the system has not kept up to what we’ve promoted in our curriculum, our students will take on those leadership positions and advocate for increased team approaches in whatever practice setting they find themselves in.”

For the 2020-21 academic year, 609 first-year and 565 second-year students took part in the program. Three of those learners are Sue Zhang, nursing; Megan Peterson, occupational therapy; and Maziar Fazel Darbandi, medicine.

UM Today has been following the three students over the course of the past two years as they embarked on their IPCC journeys (read the first, second and third story in the series). Here is what they had to say as they wrapped up their IPCC experience.

What are some of the key things you learned over the past two years in the IPCC program?

Maziar Fazel Darbandi: I think the biggest thing I’m going to take away from the program is the knowledge of the roles that the different health-care professionals play within the health-care team and how integral all those roles are in providing excellent patient-centred care.

Sue Zhang: I think over the past two years, I gained knowledge about other health-care professionals and their responsibilities when we work on a team.

Megan Peterson: The IPCC program helped me realize that having one point of care is such an effective way to manage a client’s health because it’s so much easier than the client going to eight different professionals and trying to manage their own care. If we all come together as a team to support the client, it exponentially increases services and the client’s health and their care.

How has the IPCC curriculum prepared you to work within an interprofessional environment in the future?

MFD: The biggest thing that I’m going to take from IPCC into clerkship is just knowing if I have a certain question who would be the best person to ask. Also, just having more comfort in approaching different health-care providers and having a better understanding of what their skill sets are and the things they’re taught and their unique perspective on the health-care team.

MP: A lot of us have placements during our programs and a lot of the content we learned on the IPCC team was actually used when I went on my placement. When you’re learning about it in this group, you’re thinking ‘how am I going to apply it?’ But when you actually get out there and on placement I was like ‘OK, I understand role clarification, team functioning and shared leadership.’ You actually see it in practice and it’s nice to have a better understanding going in.

SZ: I understand and respect the diversity of other health professionals. If there’s conflict that happens in the future in my workplace, I will know how to approach it.

How have you grown over the past two years when it comes to how you participate within an interprofessional team?

MP: When many people think of classic health care they assume the doctor is going to be the leader on the team. As our IPCC team worked together we realized that when we were looking at our case studies that sometimes I, as the occupational therapist, would be the expert in an area so I would actually take the lead or another health professional would. It wasn’t always the doctor. It shows you that leadership can be shared.

SZ: After two years, I know that between the professions there will be role overlap and everybody on the team has to understand each other’s roles. Our goal is to provide better patient safety and provide better patient outcomes, so we have to collaborate very well.

MFD: I feel I’ve matured in the sense that I’ve realized that one health-care field – whether it be pharmacy or medicine or occupational therapy – no matter which one you come from, the vast needs that a patient requires can’t possibly be provided by just one profession. It’s going to take all the professions coming together, working together in a civil and collaborative way to really achieve the common goal of providing excellent patient care.

Going forward, what will you work on personally when it comes to interprofessional collaboration?

SZ: In the future, when I work in a hospital, I would like to talk with other health professionals to know their perspectives and how they approach different situations.

MFD: Communication is something we can always work on. Having a great relationship with the members of the health-care team that I’m part of and making sure that there’s a strong sense of mutual respect, that’s something I will always strive for in my career.

MP: Something that I’m taking away is that every group and every team is different. You’re going to have health-care professionals with different strengths on your team and you have to leverage their skills. When I start getting placed on teams, I will learn the skills and the areas of strength of my team members and shine a light on that.

The CPA celebrated 100 years in 2020 with centenary medals of distinction to recognize one hundred individuals who have had a significant and meaningful impact on the physiotherapy profession. Due to delays related to COVID-19 restrictions, the association announced its winners in May 2021.

There were seven Manitobans on the list of winners, all of whom are UM faculty or alumni.

D’Arcy Bain

D’Arcy Bain [Dip PT/72, BPT/76] began his career as a physiotherapist at St. Boniface Hospital before co-founding the physiotherapy centre at the Institute of Sports Medicine, Reh-Fit Centre in 1979. Two years later he founded D’Arcy Bain Physiotherapy, which has grown to four locations across Winnipeg over the last 40 years. Bain has worked as a therapist at the Summer Olympics several times between 1976 and 1992, the Summer World Student Games, the Pan Am Games and as head therapist for Canada’s national racquetball team for 12 years.

He said it was great to see so many colleagues and mentors on the list of recipients. “Having friends for 40 years who have had the same values means you were kind of on an all-star team during those  developmental years but did not realize it until years later.”

Moni Fricke

Moni Fricke [BMRPT/87, MSc/98, PhD/16] joined the faculty in 1999 in the department of physical therapy. Her graduate research focused on rehabilitation issues in remote First Nations communities in northern Manitoba. In 2000, she led the development and implementation of the first community-based rehabilitation program in the Kivalliq Region of Nunavut in partnership with the communities and former JA Hildes Northern Medical Unit. In 2019 she took on the role of director of the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences’ Office of Interprofessional Collaboration.

Fricke said she was humbled to be named alongside the other physiotherapists in the group. “I’d like to think this means that there is some recognition of some of the work that I’ve done, particularly in trying to improve access to physiotherapy services for Indigenous Peoples in Canada.”

Murray MacHutchon

Murray MacHutchon [BMRPT/82] is an orthopedic physiotherapist and founder of the Pembina Physiotherapy and Sports Injury Clinic in Winnipeg. He has been a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Manipulative Physiotherapy (FCAMPT) since 1993. He is a past instructor and examiner for the Orthopedic Division of the Canadian Physiotherapy Association, and has also been involved in teaching post-graduate physiotherapists across Canada. MacHutchon has also served as a clinical mentor for the Master’s of Clinical Sciences in Manipulative Physiotherapy at the University of Western Ontario since its inception.

Kathy Mulder

Kathy Mulder [Dip PT/74, BPT/81] is a pediatric physiotherapist who has shared her knowledge and skills with physiotherapists across the world. In 2006 she was the first physiotherapist and first female to chair the Musculoskeletal Committee of the World Federations of Hemophilia. She received the CPA Global Health Award in 2008 and CPA Mentorship Award in 2016. She spent the majority of her career in child health at Health Sciences Centre Winnipeg and retired in 2014. In her retirement, she completed clinical practice guidelines for physiotherapists working in hemophilia, which were recently published in international publication Haemophilia.

Mulder said she was surprised and honoured by the nomination.

Leonore Saunders

Leonore Saunders [BPT/72] was one of a small group of people who spearheaded the development of what is now the College of Rehabilitation Sciences, opening the school in 1960. Born and educated in the U.K., she was president of the Manitoba branch of the Canadian Physiotherapy Association from 1955-57 and worked in other executive positions from 1949-1957. In 2002, Saunders received the Order of Manitoba for her contributions to women’s equality through her work on the Winnipeg Council of Women and the Provincial Council of Women in Manitoba. She passed away in 2019.

“She affected directly the people who were lucky to work with her as well as those she treated, and indirectly affected the lives of generations of women specifically in Manitoba, with more to come,” said Liz Harvey, senior instructor at the College of Rehabilitation Sciences.

Sam Steinfeld

Sam Steinfeld [BSc/76, BMR/79] along with Laurie Urban and UM faculty member Russ Horbal, purchased the physiotherapy practice at the Institute of Sports Medicine at the Reh-Fit Centre and moved it to the then-new Pan Am Clinic in 1984, renaming it the Sports Physiotherapy Centre. For 18 years, he was the physiotherapy consultant to the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. He also taught chronic pain management courses for health-care professionals in Canada for the NeuroOrthopaedic Institute of Australia, and was twice on the board of the College of Physiotherapists of Manitoba.

“I consider myself so fortunate to have had a career that allowed me to grow as a professional and that took me places I never anticipated I would go when I first graduated,” Steinfeld said.

Laurie Urban

Laurie Urban [Dip PT/77, BPT/82, MSc/11] was one of three clinicians who started the Sports Physiotherapy Centre at Pan Am Clinic in 1984. He was selected as part of the medical team for Team Canada for two Olympic Games, three Commonwealth Games, three Pan American Games and two Summer FISU World University Games. Urban retired from clinical practice five years ago, but continues to teach at the College of Rehabilitation Sciences, specializing in manual therapy, sports physiotherapy and pathology.

“When I look at the other 99 people on this list, that’s some pretty rarified company,” he said. 

Roland Lavallée

The CPA’s Orthopaedic Division also named UM physical therapy instructor Roland Lavallée [BMRPT/83, BA/80] as the 2021 recipient of the Golden Hands Award. The award is given to an exceptional orthopaedic physiotherapist in honour of the David Lamb, an influential physical therapist who passed away in the late 1990s. He has been an instructor in the physical therapy department since 2005, and in 2015 became the department’s chair of admissions. He is also a practicing clinician with 38 years of experience. Lavallée, a French Canadian Métis from Winnipeg, is the first Indigenous recipient of the award.

“I took a course from David Lamb in Montreal in 1985, so it’s an honour to receive an award in his name,” Lavallée said.

OIPC director Dr. Moni Fricke said the timing was right to address racism in health care as a “broader determinant of health.”

She noted the sessions were inspired in part by an article published in the Journal of Interprofessional Care last year on how interprofessional practice can help dismantle systemic racism. The report was written by Dr. Peter Cahn of the MGH Institute of Health Professions in Boston, Mass., who will be a guest lecturer at OIPC’s fourth annual Communities and Collaboration Symposium on May 5.

“Given the events of 2020, with the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis to the abuse experienced by Joyce Echaquan in Quebec, along with the history Winnipeg has with racism and this article coming out, we knew it was time to address racism within the health system and action to improve health outcomes,” she said.

OIPC was founded in 2016 and delivers a curriculum focused on enriching collaborative skills for interprofessional practice for all first- and second-year students in the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences. It typically holds in-person sessions as part of its program for students in dentistry, dental hygiene, medicine, nursing, occupational therapy, pharmacy, physical therapy, respiratory therapy and the physician assistant program.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the synchronous activities had to move to an online format. Fricke said this did offer challenges.

“One of the challenges we had was making sure this was a safe environment for learners who self-identify as racialized,” she said. “We engaged faculty from the department of Native studies and Ongomiizwin – Indigenous Institute of Health and Healing, as well as the Rady Faculty Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and they helped us bring together enough faculty, Elders and Knowledge Keepers so that students who felt triggered could talk to someone in a private breakout room upon request.”

The online format, however, did lead to one positive change. For the first time ever, OIPC was able to welcome 40 nursing students from the College of Nursing’s partner program at the University College of the North in Thompson and The Pas.

“The OIPC struggled in the past trying to figure out how to include our northern nursing students into our curriculum in a meaningful way,” Fricke said. “With their northern community perspectives, they bring a valuable voice to the discussions.”

Lori Davis, who represents the College of Nursing on the OIPC team, noted that racism is a topic all UM nursing students begin examining in one of their first-year courses.  

“As with other health-care disciplines, the nursing students from all three campuses need to explore their own attitudes towards racism and potentially embrace the discomfort that accompanies these discussions,” she said. “Engaging in this dialogue within their interprofessional teams, nursing and the other health-care disciplines have begun to break the silence around systemic racism in our health care system.”

Oksana Pankova is one of 48 students in the physical therapy program at the College of Rehabilitation Sciences who took part. She said the OIPC course was valuable, but noted it could also be uncomfortable.

“It put emphasis on what can happen in health-care settings, theoretical scenarios of racism, and it gave an idea of how you can help someone or how you can bring racism to someone’s attention,” she said. “But I felt everyone was on edge because it’s such a sensitive topic, and it can be very heavy and emotional for everyone.”

During the sessions, students were placed into small discussion groups of approximately eight students from different programs each with their own personal background. Pankova described some of the stories shared as “heartbreaking.”

“It pained me to hear stories from my groupmates of what they went through in Canada and hear their experiences [of racism] firsthand,” she said.

Pankova moved to Manitoba from Russia about 10 years ago and was surprised at the amount of racism she witnessed, particularly to Indigenous Canadians.

 “It still shocks me that this is happening in Canada, but at the same time I am grateful for the information because I’m not blind to it now,” she said.

At the start of each term, the IPCC students normally meet for an in-person event, but when students met during the fall term, it wasn’t face-to-face. Because of the threat of COVID-19, the students took part in the event via Zoom. During the session the students interviewed a simulated patient and took turns asking a series of questions about the patient’s health.

During the fall term, they also took part in a series of online discussions and ended the semester by handing in a reflection exercise.

All first- and second-year students in the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences participate in the IPCC curriculum. For the 2020-21 academic year, 609 first-year and 565 second-year learners were involved in the program.

Dr. Moni Fricke, director of the Office of Interprofessional Collaboration (OIPC), said the ultimate goal of the curriculum and activities of the OIPC, which coordinates IPCC, is for learners to have a foundation in interprofessional collaboration for patient-centered care.

“Fully engaged learners should be at a point of conscious competence when entering their health professional careers, planning and providing care with the client in authentic and meaningful collaboration with other members of the team,” Fricke said. “Patients and clients should feel confident that their health-care team communicates and functions as a whole, resulting in better health-care outcomes and improved quality care.”

UM Today is following three students from team #331, one of 70 second-year teams, over the course of two years (read the first story in the series and the second article.) We spoke with Sue Zhang, nursing; Megan Peterson, occupational therapy; and Maziar Fazel Darbandi, medicine, about their IPCC experiences over the fall 2020 term.

Maziar Fazel Darbandi: With everything being virtual, the term was a little different, but overall it was good. The IPCC activities during the winter term were similar to last year but with a new spin on the topics we were discussing, which made it refreshing and interesting.

Sue Zhang: I felt that this semester was different from previous semesters. The first thing, because of COVID’s impact, we had to do the face-to-face meeting through Zoom. The other thing was that we had a simulated patient during our face-to-face meeting, and it was pretty interesting.

Megan Peterson: In our first year we learned a lot about health promotion and using a holistic view of people through health, whereas this year we really focused on safety and quality of our communication as a health-care team for the safety of our clients. It felt more hands on and we had a lot of case studies.

What did you learn this term?

MP: It was interesting to see how typically it’s not just one health-care profession who cares about a certain aspect of somebody’s health. We all use the information that’s collected. It was interesting that some of the questions that I might not have thought about as an occupational therapist (OT) were pertinent to other health care professionals, but when I went to make my assessments for that client the information that the other health care professionals gained was helpful for me as well.

SZ: We learned how to function well as a team, how to communicate with other health-care professionals, and how to collaborate to solve a case study.

MFD: While we were prepping for the interview with the simulated patient, we got to learn how the other students’ unique perspectives guide them down a different way of diagnosing or a way of treating someone. And then when you bring all those perspectives together, you’re able to provide the most holistic care to the patient. I really enjoyed learning about that.

What was the face-to-face event like via Zoom?

SZ: At first I was very unsure about how the Zoom meeting would go. In the end, it went pretty good. I felt it was more effective doing the event over Zoom because they can divide us into lots of different groups and meet with the simulated patient without having to go on campus.

MFD: It was good. Zoom sessions for things like that aren’t ideal, but it was organized well. It’s hard to read people’s body language and things of that nature on Zoom, especially when you’re interviewing a patient, but I think we made the most out of the situation and still tried to learn as much as we could.

MP: I was thinking how the interview would have been much different and feel a little more uncomfortable for the client in-person because you would have had all seven of us sitting around a room interviewing them. I feel if I was a client going to see my health care team, and that’s how it was it would be kind of nerve-wracking and a little scary having all these health-care professionals asking questions, whereas on Zoom it was a little different. I think over Zoom people might be more willing to discuss with you and feel more comfortable because they are in their own home and they weren’t having to come to an office to chat with us.

Based on your IPCC experience so far, what are the keys to working efficiently as a team?

MP: I think the number one would be communication. Communication is so key not just for the care of the client and everyone being on the same page, but also for client safety, making sure that if one health-care professional learns something that everyone else should know it too.

MFD: I think being organized is the most important thing. I think some of the other students in my group did a great job of organizing us to begin with. Being organized allowed us to be as efficient as possible and when you’re efficient that allows you to not take too much time out of other things and do the task at hand.

SZ: Communication is the key point. Whenever I have a question or I’m not sure about something I speak up in the team and ask what others’ opinions are or what others feel.

What are your thoughts heading into the final term of the IPCC curriculum?

MFD: I think being in medical school and going into clerkship next year I will be in the hospital so IPCC is going to do a lot to prep me in a way for working in a health-care setting and knowing what other health-care professionals offer. When I have questions about specific things, I know I can turn to my colleagues because they have expertise in that field.

SZ: I feel like through the IPCC activities I learned how to apply my knowledge and recognize my role as a nurse on a health-care team. I feel in the future I will function better while communicating with patients and other health professionals. I hope to learn more about patient safety next term.

MP: Since our last IPCC team meeting, many of the other students on my team have had opportunities to have in-person experiences with clients during their fieldwork placements. I will be interested to hear how they have applied what we have learned during IPCC and any discrepancies that they have noticed in the health-care field. I am excited to keep learning from my team and applying the knowledge in my own education and placements.

The event will take place Oct. 1-2, with 11 PhD students and 15 master’s students from UM and USask presenting their work on a variety of research topics in the fields of rehabilitation sciences and kinesiology, along with virtual podium presentations by researchers from both universities.

Dr. Catherine Donnelly, associate professor at the School of Rehabilitation Therapy, Queen’s University, will hold the keynote address, titled “Collaborating to support systems integration” on Oct. 1 at 4 pm. Donnelly’s educational research explores interdisciplinary education and the integration of theory to practice. She recently started a new position as director of the Health Services and Policy Research Institute at Queen’s University.

“Much of my work has been focused on how teams work together and provide care, and how patients are involved in that process,” Donnelly said. “I’ll be looking at heath systems and collaboration at the systems level, and how we can start to think more broadly about what collaboration can look like and how we can support care for patients by working across systems and sectors.”

Originally from Barrie, Ont., Donnelly has been at Queen’s University since 2004. She still works clinically one day a week at the Queen’s Family Health Team’s site in Bellville, Ont.

Following Donnelly’s presentation, the event will feature four virtual lounges. Hosts from UM include Dr. Patty Thille, assistant professor, department of physical therapy, Dr. Moni Fricke, director of the Office of Interprofessional Collaboration, and Dr. Laura MacDonald, associate professor at the School of Dental Hygiene. Dr. Cathy Arnold and Dr. Teresa Paslawski from USask will also host a session.

“These will be informal discussions led by experts, much like being in a lounge, but from the comfort of home,” said Dr. Jacquie Ripat, event chair and associate dean of research at the College of Rehabilitation Sciences.

The virtual conference will conclude on Oct 2 with a panel presentation discussion on delivering remote education and health care, and conducting research using remote and virtual means.

Registration is still open. For more information and to register, visit the UM events calendar.

Last year, the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences students learned about the social determinants of health and were introduced to community agencies that work to address the social and economic factors that impact people’s health. This year, they built on what they learned by applying their knowledge to a fictional case study of a newcomer family to Canada, and the learners looked at how an interprofessional approach might apply. 

“What we’re hoping the outcome of the winter term will be is that the students will understand how they can apply the theory around interprofessional collaboration and how it can improve the health status of a family and the community they live in,” said Dr. Moni Fricke, director of the Office of Interprofessional Collaboration, which coordinates IPCC.

In January, the students met in person and were introduced to the case study. They participated in a series of online discussions throughout the term and ended the semester by each completing a written reflection exercise.

All first- and second-year students in the Rady Faculty take part in the IPCC curriculum. For the 2019-20 academic year, 591 first-year and 423 second-year learners were involved in IPCC activities. The students were from the Max Rady College of Medicine, Dr. Gerald Niznick College of Dentistry, College of Nursing, College of Pharmacy and College of Rehabilitation Sciences.

UM Today is following three students from team #331, one of 70 first-year teams, over the course of two years (read the first story in the series here.) We spoke with Sue Zhang, nursing; Megan Peterson, occupational therapy; and Maziar Fazel Darbandi, medicine, about their IPCC experiences this year.

Megan Peterson: This term was a little bit different than the fall term. The fall term was about orienting us to IPCC and learning about the social determinants of health. This semester I felt that we were using our different backgrounds to work on a case study. It was a little bit more hands on, which I liked.

Maziar Fazel Darbandi: Working on a case study together as a group was interesting. It allowed us to see what students from different colleges are learning and what resources various health-care providers can offer to people in different situations.

Sue Zhang: During the winter term we were focused on how health-care professionals work as a group to promote a healthy community. 

What did you learn this term?

SZ: I learned that when we work as a team we come up with ideas quickly, much more quickly than if I’m doing something by myself. Each member of the team is from a different profession, so they see things from a different perspective and I can learn from them.

MFD: Our discussions this term were more case based which kind of pushed us to do more research and learn about what resources are available and also to think a little more critically about the barriers that affect the patient population.

MP: I learned that it’s not just one health-care professional that is going to be the one to fix any situation; it’s definitely a team approach because we all bring our different backgrounds, skills, knowledge and scope of practice, and it’s definitely important to communicate that as well.

How did the team function this year?

MFD: I think everyone gets along really well. Everyone respects each other’s time when it comes to when one person is presenting their ideas and we are receptive to what they’re saying. It’s all very professional and respectful.

SZ: We are working together pretty good. At the face-to-face meeting we developed the community-based plan pretty quick and efficiently.

MP: If we see someone from our group on campus, we smile at each other and do a quick check-in. For the second face-to-face meeting, I felt we were a lot more comfortable. We knew each other and got straight to work. It felt a lot less awkward than the face-to-face meeting during the first term.

Have you applied what you learned from the IPCC curriculum to any of your other courses?

MP: One of my courses is called professional and leadership in enabling occupation. We learn about how we as occupational therapists (OT) can demonstrate the skills, attitudes, and behaviours that demonstrate professionalism related to the different roles OTs can fill in Canada. Having been on an IPCC team with other health care students gave me a better understanding of how I would be able to apply the different roles on a professional team. I was able to link the varying roles of practice for an OT to the case study.

SZ: This semester I was doing my clinical rotation. Every time I took care of a patient, I knew that I was not only taking care of a patient physically, but I was part of a team. I talked to pharmacists and dieticians. If the patient got discharged, we would find out who would take care of him or her and find out if is there any assistance the patient needs and is there anything we can do to advocate for them.

MFD: We learned a lot about the social determinants of health in our population health course and IPCC did a lot to consolidate that material and help us apply it in a different way while taking into consideration how other health care providers could help us in achieving our goals when it comes to being generally aware of the social determinants of health when we’re providing health services.

What would you like to learn next term?  

MFD: Throughout the IPCC curriculum I’m hoping to keep gaining more and more knowledge about the unique services that my fellow colleagues can provide. I want to continue to build more connections and always be gaining more awareness of the roles of the people around me in the professional atmosphere.

SZ: One thing I want to learn next semester is how we can convert this core plan into real life. How we can actually apply this on the patient instead of just coming up with a care plan.

MP: Due to COVID, I’d be really interested to learn how health-care teams are functioning during this time because I think it will be important to know in the future. We don’t really know how long this is going to last, or what it’s going to look like, so that would be really interesting as well.

We will follow up with the members of team #331 over the next two terms while they continue their interprofessional journeys.