BRIEF HISTORY
Here at the University of Delaware, with the new addition of the STAR Campus and STAR Tower, Healthcare Theatre (HT) has continued to expand its interprofessional /interdisciplinary education opportunities. These opportunities greatly benefit the graduate and undergraduate programs at UD as well as healthcare providers currently practicing within the tri-state area. Since HT’s inception in 2009, the UD program has successfully developed and maintained long-standing partnership with the following programs/organizations:
- Nemours / Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children
- School of Nursing at Beebe Healthcare
- Lerner College Patient Experience Academy
- UD Health Coaching
- UD Nurse Practitioners Program
- UD Psychology Graduate Program
- UD Physical Therapy Program
- UD Speech Language Pathology Program
We are now working with many different schools/programs at our university within five colleges. We are also now working with all partners in the Delaware Health Alliance as well as the State of Delaware. HT reaches many more health care workers who are out in the field in the tri-state area as well as training even larger numbers of new health care providers in a virtual and in person format.
HT has a permanent cross-credited/interdisciplinary course at UD: HLTH/THEA 215 Healthcare Communication. In the Fall of 2014, we created an Advanced Healthcare Theatre course and since have trained students crucial peer training and mentoring communication skillsets with a focus on standardized patient experiences.
As a result of Healthcare Theatre’s unique interdisciplinary program, we have provided safe yet authentic environments for healthcare professionals to further develop their communication skills, which not only benefits the healthcare professionals but also the lives and care of the patients being served.
