Interprofessional Dysphagia Care Event Brings Occupational and Speech Therapy Students Together

Students from the U of A Communication Disorders and Occupational Therapy Department recently came together for an interprofessional learning experience focused on dysphagia care coordination and clinical decision-making in healthcare settings. Dysphagia, or difficulty swallowing, can significantly impact a person's safety, nutrition, hydration, independence and quality of life. Because eating is a fundamental activity of daily living, swallowing disorders often require coordinated care from multiple healthcare professionals.

Held at the UAMS Northwest Campus, the first occupational and speech therapy Dysphagia Care Coordination event challenged students to work in interdisciplinary teams to develop a coordinated plan of care. Using a complex patient case involving traumatic brain injury and dysphagia, students reviewed clinical findings, discussed discipline-specific roles and developed integrated intervention plans that addressed both swallowing safety and functional independence. The experience was designed to mirror the collaborative problem-solving required in modern healthcare environments, where occupational therapists (OT) and speech-language pathologists (SLP) routinely collaborate to support patients with swallowing disorders.

Faculty leaders Jessica Danley of Communication Sciences and Disorders and Dr. Amanda Troillett of Occupational Therapy emphasized that experiences like this are essential for preparing students to work in healthcare, where collaboration directly impacts patient outcomes. By moving beyond discipline-specific learning, students gained first-hand experience in how coordinated care planning supports both patient safety and functional recovery.

"As clinicians, we don't work in silos, particularly in medically complex care environments," Danley said. "This experience was designed to help students better understand how our clinical roles bring different, yet complimentary, perspectives to patient care and how collaboration strengthens our outcomes."

"I have often worked with clinicians who were unsure on their roles within collaboration when scope of practice can appear to overlap," Troillett added. "We wanted to give our students the opportunity to find common ground, appreciate the complimentary contribution of our disciplines, so they are more apt to take that perspective into the clinic, as professionals."

SLP students led components related to swallowing assessment, aspiration risk and patient education, while OT students focused on discharge planning, functional performance, environmental considerations, and self-feeding needs. Students also participated in hands-on administration of swallowing screening measures and collaborative plan-of-care development.

"Throughout our coursework, we have learned about the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration, but this was our first opportunity to actively engage with OT on a shared clinical task. The experience helped me understand how dysphagia management extends beyond physiological swallowing impairments and into a patient's daily life. I loved the opportunity to practice explaining clinical findings to another discipline. I was nervous at first, but then I became more comfortable contributing my perspective while also learning from others. I realized that I knew more than I thought I did," said Hadden Henley, a first-year graduate student in communication sciences and disorders.

"Getting to collaborate with the speech students really helped me understand just how close we work with one another when treating dysphagia! I was able to explain to my group how OT takes a look at the oral motor skills and positioning of the client when feeding, while speech was able to teach me what they look for during the different swallowing phases and how they use different assessments to do so. Seeing this connection showed me the importance of interprofessional care collaboration," Madison Gray, a doctoral student in occupational therapy, said.

Throughout the half-day event, students were encouraged to examine how swallowing impairments affect not only medical stability, but also participation in daily routines, caregiver burden, discharge readiness and quality of life. Teams discussed how communication across disciplines supports continuity of care and improves long-term outcomes for patients and families.

Madison Cox, SLP graduate student, also reflected on the value of interprofessional learning: "This experience helped me understand how important teamwork is in patient care. Moving forward, I want to continue developing these skills and take advantage of more opportunities to collaborate with other professionals. Overall, this experience made me feel more prepared for real clinical settings."

The collaboration reflects a growing emphasis on interprofessional education within healthcare training programs and on authentic clinical experiences that better prepare students for clinical practice. The timing of the spring event also aligns with June's Dysphagia Awareness Month, an annual initiative focused on increasing awareness of swallowing disorders and the impact dysphagia can have on safety, nutrition, health and quality of life.

Alex Tanner, OT doctoral student, said the collaboration highlighted the value of learning alongside future speech-language pathologists while practicing a team-based approach to patient care. "For me, the dysphagia collaboration with the SLP students was a valuable opportunity to enhance my understanding of speech therapy and to better communicate the role of occupational therapy within this context," Tanner said. "I also appreciated that the collaboration allowed us to simulate a comprehensive, collaborative and client-centered case!"