OT and nursing collaborate with mobility lab

September 14, 2023 – DENTON –The Texas Woman’s School of Occupational Therapy and the College of Nursing have had a strong interprofessional relationship that goes back many years.

Every semester, OT and nursing students work together and learn from each other in an activity and mobility lab. In September, three OT faculty members and 16 OT students participated in the lab along with 120 nursing students. 

Jeffrey Williams, an associate clinical professor in the School of Nursing, collaborates with William Sit, PhD, an OT clinical professor, to ensure the IPE event runs smoothly. Williams, remembers OT faculty bringing their students over to assist the nursing students when he first started teaching at TWU 10 years ago.

During the lab, students learn about safe patient handling. OT students assist nursing students with utilizing a gait belt for ambulation and transfers and show to use mechanical lift devices. Reciprocating, nursing students assist OT students in learning how to take vital signs. 

“The OT students have a good experiential learning experience for teaching and learning in an interprofessional setting and it is also great for their resume and voluntary record,” said Sit.