by Tyler Reimschisel, MD
In this Tips for High-Impact Teamwork article, I would like to support networking and collaboration among our community by sharing information about upcoming interprofessional and teamwork events and conferences.
Our office is hosting the Collaborative Practice I Showcase. As you may know, Collaborative Practice I is Case Western Reserve University’s interprofessional service-learning course in which students work in interprofessional teams to complete a community-based project while learning knowledge and skills pertinent to teamwork. This year, the showcase will feature 535 CWRU students from seven professions who have worked on 78 teams. During the showcase, each team will have an opportunity to present its project deliverable, reflect on teamwork and collaboration with the community organization, hear from the community-based project “champion” or client for the project, and address questions from the audience. Student teams will present in 20 rooms. Register for the event.
On May 2 from noon to 5 p.m., our office will provide a team workshop for any CWRU staff member to discuss the four dimensions of high-impact teamwork, the importance of team-mindedness and shared mental models, emotional intelligence, and ways to foster psychological safety in order to build team solidarity. In addition, we will describe structured tools for effective communication within and across departments and schools. Content will be specifically applied to the context of planning or implementing meetings. Multiple learning modalities will be utilized, including assigned reading before the workshop, individual and small group reflections, small group discussions, large group debriefs and active team challenges in order to practice the concepts and skills that are discussed in the workshop. This workshop is at capacity but accepting waitlist names.
There are also several upcoming teamwork or interprofessional education conferences that you might like to attend.
The Collaborating Across Borders conference, a virtual event held May 16–18, focuses on interprofessional education and collaborative healthcare. The theme is “Hope and Trust in Health and Social Care.” Learn more about the organization and register for the conference.
The Academy for Professionalism in Healthcare is hosting its annual meeting in our Health Education Campus June 7–9. This organization is devoted to the study and advancement of professionalism in health-related fields, and this year’s theme is “Health Care Professionalism and Bias Reduction: Sharing Global Strategies.” Find more information and register for the conference.
The International Network for the Science of Team Science (INSciTS) is hosting its annual conference in Bethesda, Maryland, July 24–26. The vision of INSciTS is to “create and facilitate a high-impact community that develops and disseminates an evidence base to support team science and shapes how research is conducted to solve complex problems.” Its focus is primarily the science of team science, especially as it relates to interprofessional and interdisciplinary teams that conduct research. Having said that, based on my experience there are certainly educators and clinicians who also attend the conference. The theme for this year’s conference is “Bridging Theory and Practice.” This is one of my favorite conferences, and I am looking forward to attending it in person this summer. The call for proposals is open. The deadline for workshop proposals is May 1, and the deadline for poster applications is May 12. For more information and to register for the conference, visit the International Network for the Science of Team Science webpage.
The National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education is hosting its 2023 Nexus Summit later this year. Like Collaborating Across Borders, this conference will be fully virtual because the organizers want to enable “diverse contributors to attend, learn and work together.” The dates of the conference are Sept. 18–19 and Sept. 28–29. It is interesting to see how various organizations are reconsidering how they bring people together virtually and in person, and I like that this conference is spread out over a few weeks. The theme of Nexus 2023 is “Working Together for Impact,” and this year they want to highlight innovations that “advance interprofessional practice and education for maximum impact on quality and costs of healthcare, on health equity and on an empowered workforce.” You can see the call for abstracts and register at the National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education webpage.
To help you stay informed about upcoming interprofessional and interdisciplinary opportunities, our office has created The Huddle calendar. To make this calendar broadly useful, we encourage individuals or teams to post upcoming events, conferences and other activities that might appeal to faculty, staff and students across multiple professions. If you have items to add to this calendar, please complete The Huddle calendar form.
As a reminder, you can also submit announcements, celebrations about awards and publications, and other news by completing The Huddle submission form.
To stay updated about interprofessional and interdisciplinary opportunities through social media, please follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
As we are coming out of the pandemic, it is exciting to begin to return to some in-person conferences where we can enjoy unexpected social “collisions” and robust networking while also having the option to attend virtually so we can save money, omit travel time and sleep in our own beds. I encourage you to check out the exciting interprofessional and team-oriented opportunities discussed above, submit your events and news to The Huddle, and visit us on social media.