When Dr. Terry Morrow Nelson agreed in 2012 to pull together a team for an American Diabetes Association walk on NSU's campus, she had one thought leaving that event: a university with this many health professions programs and this many students hungry for real-world experience could do far more than fundraise. The Interprofessional Diabetes Education and Awareness (IDEA) Initiative was born from that question, and it has been running, growing, and evolving ever since.
In Season 3 of Behind the Scenes: How Faculty Bring Learning to Life at NSU, the focus is on Community in Action: How NSU Faculty Serve, Partner, and Make an Impact. Host Dr. Marti Snyder is joined by Dr. Morrow Nelson, a professor of Health Sciences at the Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine, to explore how the IDEA Initiative has grown into a year-round program involving 15 health professions, 10 interprofessional teams, and 70 to 80 students annually. They discuss what students gain by moving from simulation to real community settings, how a strengths-based leadership model shapes the work, and what it takes to build community partnerships that last. Faculty interested in interprofessional education, service learning, or sustainable program design will find this conversation full of insight that travels well beyond Health Sciences
