Interprofessional Collaboration: A serendipitous convergence of skills, opportunity and learning, to make a difference

Authors

  • Kala Chakradhar Murray State University
  • Kelly Rogers Murray State University
  • Kathleen Farrell Murray State University
  • Steve Jones Murray State University

Abstract

This story on interprofessional collaboration had a truly serendipitous beginning motivated by the bane of being in academia, “publish or perish.”  But what unfolded seemed a deliberate coming together of a group of faculty sharing a passion for working with older populations and a desire to promote better health for the community.  Representing the disciplines of social work, recreation, gerontology, nursing, anthropology and psychology in a regional, rural, comprehensive university, our collaboration transcended multiple facets to discover pathways that would impact regional health status.  Beginning with one faculty member’s drive to connect with others inclined to take on research, and the chancing upon an article addressing chronic disease self-management by another faculty member, the group snowballed to initiate a university-community partnership.  This partnership, at multiple levels, helped forge a series of group-oriented chronic disease self-management workshops in the community for people experiencing chronic illness.  This article shares how this collaboration played out over three years and the valuable lessons learned as we looked for ways to sustain this resource.

Author Biographies

Kala Chakradhar, Murray State University

Assistant Professor, Department of Community Leadership and Human Services, College of Health Sciences and Human Services

Kelly Rogers, Murray State University

Associate Professor, Department of Community Leadership and Human Services, College of Health Sciences and Human Services

Kathleen Farrell, Murray State University

Professor, School of Nursing

Steve Jones, Murray State University

Associate Professor and Chair (Retired), Department of Communtiy Leadership and Human Services, College of Health Sciences and Human Services

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Published

2015-04-20

How to Cite

Chakradhar, K., Rogers, K., Farrell, K., & Jones, S. (2015). Interprofessional Collaboration: A serendipitous convergence of skills, opportunity and learning, to make a difference. Reflections: Narratives of Professional Helping, 19(4), 4–14. Retrieved from https://reflectionsnarrativesofprofessionalhelping.org/index.php/Reflections/article/view/501