UMKC works diligently to make sure you graduate with a thorough understanding of how to collaborate with other health care professionals — dentists, pharmacists, social workers and more — to provide efficient patient-focused solutions.

The interprofessional education initiatives at the School of Nursing and Health Studies revolve around several training grants from the Department of Health Resources and Services Administration nursing division. These projects train advanced practice nursing students and students from the pharmacy, dentistry, social work, and clinical psychology methods to work as members of interprofessional clinical practice teams.

Each of the projects provide specific training on working with vulnerable and medically underserved patient populations, as well as understanding the needs of persons with multiple chronic conditions and the special needs of military veterans. Trainings are also designed to improve interpersonal and interprofessional communication, ethical decision-making and techniques for motivating patients to be partners with their providers in managing their health care.

Students receive training together through short-term immersion courses followed by clinical rotations at community-based health care facilities such as Samuel U. Rodgers, Hope Family Clinic, KC CARE Clinic and the Kansas City Veterans Administration Medical Center.