During the first week of March, four DPT students — Joshua Hare, Camille Jamshidi, Ariana Zanganeh, and Jessica Oram— and two PT faculty, Kim Dunleavy, PhD, MOMT, PT, OCS, and Claudia Senesac, PT, PhD, PCS, joined the well-established interprofessional College of Medicine Project Yucatan for the first time.
The group of 42 volunteers, including pharmacy, physician assistant and medical students and licensed providers, provided care in four rural areas outside Merida in Yucatan, Mexico. Over 70 health professional students from the Universidad Autonoma de Yucatan (UADY) worked with community partners to organize the events, served as translators and worked with patients.
DPT students, faculty and UADY students evaluated over 130 patients in 4 days, providing education and exercise aimed at functional improvement.
The interprofessional team interactions and care provided a rich and meaningful learning experience for all, while providing valuable service. There were multiple unique opportunities to observe roles and responsibilities of other professionals, along with developing interprofessional communication and team skills immersed in the Mexican context and culture.
