A team of six University of Queensland students has won the annual HealthFusion Health Care Team Challenge, making it the fourth consecutive win for UQ.
The HealthFusion Health Care Team Challenge is a competition that requires teams of students to work together across multiple disciplines to determine the best outcome for a complex patient care case.
Students from UQ and Queensland University of Technology battled it out in an evening of challenges, presentations and practical scenarios
The UQ team was made up of six students studying a range of programs including physiotherapy, pharmacy, dietetics, occupational therapy and nursing.
Michelle Jory, a Bachelor of Nursing student, said that the competition provided a wonderful opportunity to participate in a diverse interprofessional team.
“It was fantastic to work on a challenging case that tested our critical thinking skills,” Ms Jory said.
“I thoroughly enjoyed the evening and am grateful for the help, support and guidance of our mentor Roma Forbes.”
Ms Roma Forbes, Associate Lecturer in Physiotherapy from UQ’s School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciencessaid that the team chose to demonstrate their collaborative approach to the judging panel by way of a mock Skype meeting with the patient.
“Praise from the judging panel included the team’s understanding of their scope of practice, being creative, and including the patient in the decision making process” Ms Forbes said.
Professor Sarah Roberts-Thomson, Associate Dean (Academic) of the Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences said it was admirable to see collaboration and patient-centred care at the forefront of the students’ thought process.
“This is a very proud achievement for the health sciences at UQ and I congratulate the team for their hard work, and thank their mentor Roma Forbes for her dedicated coordination and support,” Professor Roberts-Thomson said.
The winning team consisted of Daniel Brew (Physiotherapy), Nataya Branjerdporn (Occupational Therapy), Anastasia Kapeleris (Occupational Therapy), Kirsten Yeo (Pharmacy), Michelle Jory (Nursing) and Naomi Fitzpatrick (Dietetics).
