Interdisciplinary learning opportunities are effective and valuable interventions that provide numerous stakeholders with essential advantages. Turner et al. (2022) clarify that this phenomenon implies synthesizing and using knowledge from different disciplines to generate novel perspectives. As a result, individuals are encouraged to adopt multiple perspectives to solve a current issue. Such an opportunity does not undervalue a single discipline and is different from a multi-disciplinary approach that relies on various disciplines in isolation without merging them (Turner et al., 2022). A suitable example of an interdisciplinary learning opportunity refers to a 2-day workshop on low back pain management, which utilizes the ideas from the Physical Therapy, Pharmacology, and Healthcare Education domains.
The current interdisciplinary learning opportunity is represented by a 2-day workshop for students. This activity’s main purpose is to provide the participants with better knowledge regarding how to treat low back pain. Since the discipline branch is Physical Therapy, the focus will be placed on appropriate interventions, including spinal manipulation, massage, and heat-wrap therapy (Traeger et al., 2019). However, the name of the intervention implies that information from other disciplines will be used.
The presented workshop will be divided into two separate parts. The first day will include a 2-hour session that will provide the participants with theoretical information on the topic. In particular, the individuals will discover that, in many cases, physical therapy interventions are not sufficient to reduce pain (Davin et al., 2019). That is why interdisciplinary interventions are needed to address the problem and achieve positive outcomes. Thus, the session will comment on the importance of appropriate medication and patient counseling. It is important to note that vitamin B12, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and opiates can help reduce this pain (Buesing et al., 2019). This information will become a sufficient theoretical background of the workshop.
The second day will include practical assignments for the participants to master specific skills. For example, the individuals will learn how to give a correct massage, learn more about heat-wrap therapy, and become familiar with spinal manipulations. Furthermore, the participants will be asked to search the available scientific literature to identify specific medications that have proved their effectiveness in reducing low back pain. Finally, these students will engage in simulations where they will need to explain the concept of low back pain management for hypothetical patients.
The given interdisciplinary learning opportunity will take place at the university. The best option is to choose the conference room at the university in City, State. This location is convenient for all stakeholders because it offers all the required technical resources and can accommodate many individuals. Simultaneously, the site is familiar to the students and staff members, indicating that they can easily find and reach it.
In addition to Physical Therapy, two other disciplines will be involved in the workshop. On the one hand, Pharmacology will be addressed because significant attention will be drawn to what medication to use to manage low back pain. On the other hand, the discipline of Healthcare Education will be covered since the workshop participants will learn how to communicate with patients. These facts demonstrate that the workshop creates an effective interdisciplinary learning opportunity.
The event under analysis is valuable because it provides each discipline with perceived benefits. Physical therapy has advantages because students learn how to perform therapeutic interventions properly. Furthermore, the discipline learns that it is possible to rely on knowledge from another sphere to improve potential outcomes. As for Pharmacology, this area meets positive effects since knowledge regarding effective low back pain management medication is gathered and synthesized. The discipline additionally learns that it can cooperate with Physical Therapy to achieve shared goals. Finally, the Healthcare Education sphere witnesses benefits because it learns what specific Physical Therapy and Pharmacology knowledge and skills should be delivered to students. Moreover, students will learn how to communicate with patients suffering from low back pain.
Even though the interdisciplinary learning opportunity is beneficial, it can be subject to a few challenges. The first potential issue can refer to the fact that the participants will not master how to perform therapeutic manipulations. This barrier will be overcome by inviting a professional and skillful Physical Therapist who will be able to share their experience with the students. The second challenge implies that a very high number of students can appear to attend the workshop. It is possible to prevent the issue by making announcements of the event and highlighting that a limited number of participants can attend it. Another suitable option is to ask the potential participants to register for the event in advance so that the instructors can prevent overcrowding.
In conclusion, the interdisciplinary learning opportunity addresses an important topic and attempts to provide students with valuable knowledge and skills on how to treat low back pain. This event merges evidence from the spheres of Physical Therapy, Pharmacology, and Healthcare Education to provide the participants with comprehensive knowledge on how to manage the selected problem. The discussion of the workshop location, benefits, and challenges is included to provide exhaustive details regarding how and why this activity is organized.
References
Buesing, S., Costa, M., Schilling, J. M., & Moeller-Bertram, T. (2019). Vitamin B12 as a treatment for pain. Pain Physician, 22(1), E45-E52.
Davin, S., Lapin, B., Mijatovic, D., Fox, R., Benzel, E., Stilphen, M., Machado, A., & Katzan, I. L. (2019). Comparative effectiveness of an interdisciplinary pain program for chronic low back pain, compared to physical therapy alone. Spine, 44(24), 1715-1722. Web.
Traeger, A. C., Buchbinder, R., Elshaug, A. G., Croft, P. R., & Maher, C. G. (2019). Care for low back pain: Can health systems deliver? Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 97(6), 423-433. Web.
Turner, R., Cotton, D., Morrison, D., & Kneale, P. (2022). Embedding interdisciplinary learning into the first-year undergraduate curriculum: Drivers and barriers in a cross-institutional enhancement project. Teaching in Higher Education, 1-17. Web.