At Azusa Pacific University, equipping students for successful careers means more than just training them in the specialized skills of their chosen fields. It means teaching them how to work together effectively with people from other disciplines. In the real world of healthcare, patient care is never a solo endeavor. It requires the seamless collaboration of nurses, doctors, social workers, psychologists, child life specialists, science experts, and other health care professionals.
To bridge the gap between classroom theory and real-world application, APU’s College of Education and Behavioral Sciences (CEBS), College of Nursing and Health Sciences (CNHS), and College of Arts, Humanities, Sciences, and Theology (CAHST) hosted a dynamic interprofessional education (IPE) event. The experience brought together more than 90 undergraduate and graduate students from several disciplines to tackle a complex, multi-layered hypothetical patient case study, showing how the best holistic care is truly collaborative.
The Vision Behind IPE
“When students learn in silos, they really don’t know what their colleagues do until they get into the field,” explained Kim Setterlund, MSW, LCSW, assistant professor and chair of the Department of Social Work.
To accomplish this, APU’s faculty designed the learning experience to mirror the complexities of the real world healthcare system. “We intentionally created a care scenario where our different team members can speak into the patient’s and family’s needs based on their disciplinary lens,” Setterlund said. “The idea is that we want students to see that everybody has an equal voice in determining the direction of the patient’s care.”
A Holistic Approach to a Complex Case
During the event, students were presented with a hypothetical case involving a father facing a life-threatening medical crisis from extended periods of alcoholism that severely impacted his liver, while his wife and two young children navigated the emotional and practical fallout. Rather than focusing on a single symptom, students were challenged to look at the entire family system in determining the best path forward.
Students gained invaluable insights from two of APU’s expert faculty—Renee Pozza, PhD, RN, CNS, FNP-BC, FAASLD, dean of the CNHS, and Rachel Castaneda, professor in the Department of Psychology. Pozza, one of the foremost liver disease experts in the world, shared about the physical aspects of what the patient would go through, how his liver was affected by his drinking and what the physical road to recovery might look like. Castaneda, who has extensive experience in substance use prevention research, focused on the psychological aspects, what factors were causing the patient to continue in his behavior and what might lead him to change. Mike Song ’28, a Master of Social Work student, appreciated seeing the seasoned professionals model this teamwork. “I loved watching their collaborative effort, especially because they’re both professionals who have been in the field for quite a while and have vast knowledge of their respective subjects,” Song said. “They both brought up excellent points that, coming from my area of social work, I would have never considered. That’s why this IPE event was so needed, it brought together experts in different areas so we could determine the most holistic approach for our patients and clients.”
Learning From One Another
Following the expert presentations, students broke into small interdisciplinary groups to develop a comprehensive care plan. The results were eye-opening, with many students discovering the vital roles their peers will play in their future workplaces.
Alia Roman ’27, a junior nursing major, noted how rare and valuable the experience was for her career preparation. “I thought this was the perfect opportunity to see what interprofessional teams look like because it will prepare me for my actual job as a nurse when I’m collaborating with doctors, social workers, and other professionals,” she said. “It was awesome to see how everyone works together to reach the best outcome for the patient and their family. It felt very real, and even though we’re students, we’re not professionals yet, just planting that seed is so important for us to work together to see how it’s going to be for us when we enter the professional world.”
For Tiffany Williams ’26, a Master’s in Child Life student, the breakout sessions were transformative. “It was absolutely amazing,” she said. “I loved hearing the perspectives of nursing and social work students, the things they wanted to focus on for the patient’s care, things I cannot do as a child life specialist. By them focusing on the physical and psychological aspects, it allows me to focus on what I can do to be able to give the proper resources to the patient’s children.” The event also allowed Williams to advocate for her profession.
Cadence Youngman ’26, a senior social work major, echoed the importance of seeing beyond her own discipline. “For me, it was developing a more holistic approach because there were details other students brought up that I had never considered,” Youngman said. “It sounds cliche, but it’s true—teamwork is best.”
Faith and Whole-Person Care
As part of an APU education, healthcare isn’t just about treating the physical body; it is deeply rooted in the university’s Christ-centered mission, addressing the spiritual and emotional needs of every individual. “My social work faculty focus on the bio-psycho-social-spiritual aspect of a person,” Song said. “If we can steer our healthcare system to this model, I feel that’s the best way to go, so we’re caring for the whole person, not just their physical needs.”
Gabriel Dedrick-Jaurequi ’27, a Master’s in Counseling Psychology student, connected the academic exercise to his higher calling. “God has given us these gifts to help people like this man,” he said. For him, the collaborative effort of the IPE event perfectly mirrored the Christian call to serve the vulnerable. “Cases like this give us the opportunity to demonstrate Christ’s love. We’re doing God’s work for His Kingdom,” Dedrick-Jaurequi said. “This is what we’ve been created to do. We’re blessed with the opportunity to help others in need.”
Looking Forward
The success of this IPE event underscores APU’s commitment to producing graduates who are not only highly skilled in their specific disciplines but are also compassionate, empathetic, collaborative, and ready to lead interprofessional teams from day one in their respective professions.
With the next IPE event fast approaching on April 10, a new group of APU students will soon experience the power of interprofessional learning. By breaking down academic silos, APU is actively shaping the compassionate, comprehensive healthcare leaders of the next generation.