Interdisciplinary collaboration can enhance learning for students. Nurse practitioner (NP) students worked with information technology (IT) students to develop a mobile app for patient teaching that NP students could use in practice once they graduated. Groups were formed with 3 NP students and 3 IT students for a total of 6 groups. Subjects included asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, myocardial infarction, back pain, flu shots, and bariatric surgery. NP students provided content to the IT students, which required them to take complex pathophysiological concepts, evaluate the most important points, and divide that into a simple format using words and pictures to convey understanding. This type of classroom activity has shown to be beneficial in learning pathophysiological content.1 IT students then created a workable mobile app that NP students could use for patient teaching. This activity required multiple meetings between the 2 groups for clarification and design. It also provided more creativity than a traditional group project with only 1 discipline. This activity gave both classes a real-world experience. NP students had the opportunity to explain content, which reinforced their own learning, and IT students experienced a simulated client-vendor relationship. Challenges were time management and feedback being given in a timely manner.

Reference