Waldron symposium connects students, faculty through research, scholarship, service

Radford University’s Waldron College of Health and Human Services held its ninth annual Interprofessional Symposium on April 11, offering a unique opportunity for students and faculty from various disciplines to learn from one another and explore the many ways in which they can work together to best provide care for the community.

Two hundred and twenty graduate and undergraduate students registered for the event.

The “stated goal” of the symposium, said Kerry Vandergrift, an associate professor in the School of Social Work, “is to interact inter-professionally around teaching, scholarship and service. 

“Informally, what we really want is students and faculty to see how we work in the community, the different kinds of roles and responsibilities we have,” Vandergrift said. “But even more importantly, we want them to see the areas where we overlap and might have different perspectives on things as we do the same kind of work.”

Melissa Kedrowitsch, a student in the Master of Social Work program, led a roundtable discussion that exemplified those goals. Before Kedrowitsch spoke about her work to bring awareness to the importance of veterans’ treatment dockets, she asked those gathered for the discussion – students from social work, occupational therapy and criminal justice – a series of questions pertaining, from their areas of study, to veterans issues.

“We want students to see we are not alone in our professions,” Vandergrift elaborated later.

Scores of students presented their research in one of four poster sessions throughout the day.

“It’s good practice,” said one presenter, Madison-Ann Pelfrey, a second-year student in the physician assistant studies program, “to be able to tell people about the research we’ve read and found so that they can understand why a physician may choose a particular treatment versus a different treatment.”

Pelfrey, from Columbia, South Carolina, along with fellow PA students Emily Rowe, Kaitlyn Schwend and Katherine Yates, presented their research on “Cefdinir Compared to Amoxicillin-Clavulanate in the Treatment of Acute Otitis Media in Children.”

Most of the presenters represented Waldron graduate programs; however, a handful of undergraduate students enrolled in the Social Justice for Social Work course had their chance to present posters during the afternoon session.

“We have everyone from freshmen to doctoral students,” Vandergrift said.

Savannah Stratton was one of the freshman presenters who relished the opportunity but found it “a little nerve-wracking at first to come here and talk to professors and graduate students. But, overall,” the nursing major from Norfolk, Virginia, said, “it was fun and very interesting and a great learning experience.”

Senior Mallory Rhodes found it interesting, too, to receive feedback from her peers. “There are a lot of grad students coming up and asking us questions,” said the psychology major from Christiansburg, Virginia, standing beside her research poster. “They ask really good questions, and they know what it’s like to be here in this environment.”

In the late morning, many symposium attendees gathered in Heth Hall 043 for a round of fast-paced research presentations called Ignite Talks. Many presenters joined in virtually, appearing on two large screens in the front of the room, while others stood before the group, giving a brief overview of their work. Each talk lasted five minutes, and the presenters had 20 slides, which advanced automatically every 15 seconds.

Students presented on a variety of topics such as “Social Media Use and Depression in Young Adults and Adolescents,” “Assessing Advanced Care Provider Awareness, Motivations and Behaviors Related to Climate Change and Health” and “Telehealth in a Rural Setting.”

Following the Ignite Talks and a delicious taco bar lunch, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Bethany Usher delivered the symposium’s keynote, addressing the topic of “Education to Advance the Social Determinants of Health.” A group of faculty-led workshops followed in the late afternoon. Topics discussed were “Enhancing Radford Community Engagement: Discover Ways to Serve your Local Office on Aging” and “Healthcare Contexts for Rehabilitation Sciences: Education and Practice in the U.S. and Germany.”

The School of Social Work held its annual pinning ceremony at the end of the day for those students who will be graduating in May. Twenty-five students were called to the front and presented a pin by School of Social Work Director Diane Hodge. The National Association of Social Work provided the pins “because,” she said, “they want to recognize your achievements and commitment to the field of social work.”

The purpose of the pinning, Hodge noted, is to signify graduation from the program. “It also marks the beginning of you as our colleagues,” she said. “We are very excited to have you join us as Master of Social Work social workers in the field. You are going to go out and be leaders and do incredible things.”

Participating and observing the work of their fellow students and faculty at the daylong symposium was an incredible experience in itself, many students noted, and the overall purpose of the event inspired many as they made their way through each poster session, workshop and roundtable discussion.

“We came here today to gain knowledge of other research that is out there from different disciplines that we are going to be working with every single day – social work, physician assistants, nurses – we are going to be working as a team together,” said Ann Ramsey, a second-year Master of Occupational Therapy student from Bessemer City, North Carolina. “Just like learning about what their focuses are is very important for not only us, but also for providing the best for client care.”