UTMB Interdisciplinary Studies

Welcome to Interdisciplinary Studies!

This unique course shows you how the health care team works and your role in it. You will collaborate with other health related professions to solve problems, provide services, or develop new understandings.

The course will increase your understanding of the:

Unique roles of health professionals.
Knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to collaborate and work in teams.
Shared roles and responsibilities of health and human service professionals in any team.
Benefits of interdisciplinary collaboration to patients or clients, to the practice of a profession, to an individual’s professional growth, and to health care outcomes.

The course is designed to meet your individual career goals. You select how you will meet the course requirements by planning where you will focus your energy and choosing the types of experiences that will further develop your education of the roles of other professions and the health care team. You can develop your understanding of the diverse populations you will work with as a professional and acquire a broader perspective of health care.

Interdisciplinary Distinction

Students who complete a minimum of 200 points in the Interdisciplinary Studies course will earn the Interdisciplinary Distinction award. This award will be noted in the graduation program and each student will receive a certificate. Students can also include this distinction on their resumes. Students earn this award by completing either 200 points in Mentored Activities or by competing both 100 points of Mentored Activities plus a Capstone Project option. Please contact Lodie Massey at lmmassey@utmb.edu for more information.

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Before you enter Activity or Project information, you MUST specify an INDS "TRACK". You can always change your track at a later time if you so choose. Activity and Project track descriptions are described below. If you are working toward the Interdisciplinary Distinction Award and plan to do 100 points of Mentored Activities AND a Capstone Project, then you should specify "Dual Track"

Mentored Activities Option

You work in small groups with faculty from different disciplines who will share their interests and expertise with you. You will see how your profession interacts with other professions and how the health care team improves patient outcomes.

Wednesday afternoons from 3:00 – 5:00 pm are reserved for Mentored Activities. In addition, some activities may be scheduled at other times due to community and UTMB schedules. Mentored Activities allow you to:

Conduct research in health care with faculty members
Evaluate real-life case studies as part of a health care team
Shadow professionals and health care teams in the field
Gain experience and knowledge working with diverse cultures
Examine alternative health practices and their role in health care
Address the problems of health care today
Develop the communication skills required for patient-centered care

To see the listing of activities available, click on the Activities link. Each Mentored Activity listing will outline the experiential and learning steps involved. In addition to the current listing on the website, Mentored Activities will be added throughout the year. New activities will be posted and on the website and weekly announcements of new activities will be posted on every floor.

The course is individualized to meet your specific needs. In addition to the posted activities, you can also develop your own activity to focus on your specific interests. You need to have this activity approved before implementation. See (Self-generated Student Activity in the Activities list).

Project Option

If you have had experience working in health care teams and know your specific career interests, this may be an appropriate option for you. You will join other like-minded students from other disciples to design and carry out a health-related project in a community setting. The capstone project is based on the need assessment completed by your interdisciplinary team. Your team develops a proposal which is approved by Interdisciplinary Studies faculty and the Community Sponsor. You schedule a time line for key events to be completed, design the measurement criteria by which you will monitor the project, and identify resources required. Your interdisciplinary team works together to carry out the project, analyze the findings, and evaluate the project. You summarize what you learned about working in a health care team, and make recommendations for further actions to address the community need. This option is available starting the second semester of the first year of your program.