Health Sciences Faculty Receive Prestigious Award for Their Research
J. Warren Perry Award Honors Faculty for Study on How Interprofessional Education Prepares Future Health Professionals to Improve Patient Outcomes
Touro University’s School of Health Sciences (SHS) faculty Drs. Jill Horbacewicz, Rivka Molinsky, and Meira Orentlicher received the prestigious J. Warren Perry Award from the Association of Schools Advancing Health Professions (ASAHP). The award is presented annually to the author(s) of the highest-ranked original research published in the Journal of Allied Health based on reviewer scores and rankings by an editorial board panel.
The team’s winning research, “From I to We: The Evolution of Individual Students from Seven Health Professions Programs to a Functioning Interprofessional Team,” presents a qualitative thematic analysis of real-time conversations among one table of students—each representing a different health profession—working with their faculty facilitator during a one-day Interprofessional Education (IPE) Symposium. The event brought together more than 400 students and faculty from across the health care team, including current and future professionals from SHS nursing, occupational therapy, physician assistant, physical therapy, speech-language pathology, and clinical mental health counseling programs, as well as from Touro College of Pharmacy.
At the IPE Symposium, students were joined by a faculty facilitator and placed in interprofessional teams, which were tasked with developing a treatment plan—and later a discharge plan—for a fictional patient who had suffered a stroke. The event enabled students to learn from and about various professions in one experience, helping them gain vital on-the-ground experience needed to successfully function in an interprofessional team.
The study highlighted how students and future healthcare professionals learned to work together as a collaborative team. Findings indicated that students progressed through three stages—starting as individuals (“I”), then beginning to connect (“I to We”), and ultimately becoming a unified group (“We”). This transformation happened in thirteen steps and was guided by a skilled faculty member. By working closely with peers from seven different health professions, students not only learned the value of each role but also practiced making group decisions. This process strengthened their ability to communicate, collaborate, and make decisions effectively, which are essential skills for working in today’s healthcare teams.
“Students moved from seeing the case through their professional lens, to consulting others from different disciplines in a referral-like model, and finally to co-creating a shared vision of care that integrates each profession’s role and priorities,” said Dr. Meira Orentlicher, associate dean for research and faculty scholarship at SHS.
The study’s innovative methodology has earned national recognition for its contribution to advancing interprofessional education in the health professions. “This study is unique because we analyzed live interactions during the symposium as the team formed, rather than analyzing post-event participant interviews or surveys. This provided key insight into how a group of individuals transitions from working individually to operating as a unified care team,” said Dr. Jill Horbacewicz, chair of the Physical Therapy Department and co-chair of the SHS IPE Committee.
“It’s clear that when health professionals collaborate, patient outcomes improve,” said Dr. Rivka Molinsky, associate dean at SHS. “This vital research not only demonstrates the effectiveness of our structured interprofessional education model but also highlights the need to fully prepare students for team-based patient-centered care.”
