The Amazing Race, written by Patricia Kline
I am trying to find an analogy for this experience. I feel like this picture describes our journey. Like a racing team training for a marathon, our group spent grueling hours together every Wednesday evening at 6 pm. We were dedicated to the process. We had a team coach that was very helpful and extremely patient. Her name was Maria. She was also a master planner. We had a energizer bunny named Tera, who was like the old woman in the shoe. She had so many ideas, we didn’t know what to do! We had a calm presence. Her name was Jessica. She never seemed overwhelmed or ruffled. Her calm presence was like a rock. We had a fun spirit. Her name was Delaney. She always made me laugh about something. We had a faculty coach her name was Youngbok. She knew when we were overwhelmed and knew how much to push and how to simply say, “You are doing a good job.” But above all we were a team, an amazing team!
At our first meeting, when we didn’t even know each other, Youngbok spoke about the four competencies for interprofessional collaboration:
Competency 1 — Work with individuals of other professions to maintain a climate of mutual respect and shared values. CHECK
Competency 2 — Use the knowledge of one’s own role and those of other professions to appropriately assess and address the health care needs of patients and to promote and advance the health of populations. CHECK
Competency 3 — Communicate with patients, families, communities, and professionals in health and other fields in a responsive and responsible manner that supports a team approach to the promotion and maintenance of health and the prevention and treatment of disease. CHECK
Competency 4 — Apply relationship-building values and the principles of team dynamics to perform effectively in different team roles to plan, deliver, and evaluate patient/population centered care and population health programs and policies that are safe, timely, efficient, effective, and equitable. CHECK
Congratulations Team C! I believe we all succeeded in developing these competencies. We were not perfect, but we sure did grow. However, best of all we crossed the finish line together! I am so proud of each of you. On another note — WE WON! On a second note, I was so tired on Saturday you would of thought I ran a marathon.
