Interdisciplinary Leadership Education for Health Professionals Caring for Children and youth with dissabilities and their families.

The Oklahoma LEND Interdisciplinary Leadership Education Program prepares students for leadership roles as professionals with interdisciplinary skills to support community-based partnerships with professional colleagues, clients, and families.

The Program provides interdisciplinary learning experiences for graduate and post-graduate students.

1. Expand interdisciplinary service, research and leadership knowledge and skills
2. Support collaboration with parents and the interdisciplinary provision of family-centered services
3. Increase cultural competence in interdisciplinary service provision
4. Develop interdisciplinary teaming skills; and build capacity for interdisciplinary community-based health care, education and related services.

• Mentored learning experiences with interdisciplinary faculty, including family and self advocate faculty, to expand knowledge and skills in interdisciplinary teaming, service provision, research design and leadership
• Hands-on opportunities to learn in community settings from community-based faculty, family, children and adults with developmental disabilities to see interdisciplinary family-centered or consumer-centered services in the real world
• First-person understanding about what cultural competence skills can contribute to work as a professional who will see people from multiethnic communities
• Increased confidence for leadership in interdisciplinary service provision health care, education and related services

Interdisciplinary education includes a variety of didactic, practicum and research experiences based on the Oklahoma LEND foundational components of family-centered care, interdisciplinary teaming, cultural competency and inclusive practices. Leadership issues include interdisciplinary team dynamics, service delivery systems, child-family advocacy, policy analysis, legislation, legal and ethical issues, local and state resources, funding and statewide systems change. A minimum of forty hours of structured interdisciplinary educational experiences must be completed before a student can qualify for the Oklahoma LEND Interdisciplinary Leadership Program. Students can participate in one of three program options:

Short-Term Program

Requires planned instruction that is between 40 and 159 contact hours including hands-on learning experiences in the academic center and the community.

Intermediate-Term Program

Requires planned instruction that is between 160 and 299 contact hours including hands-on learning experiences in the community. When a student has accumulated 200 hours, an Individualized Interdisciplinary Leadership Plan will be developed, by the student with the assistance of the Oklahoma LEND Faculty Advisor.

Long-Term Program

Requires planned instruction that is 300 or more contact hours (didactic, practicum and research) and includes an individual and group leadership project during a one year reporting period. An Individualize Interdisciplinary Leadership Plan (ILP) must be developed by each student in this program category with the assistance of the Oklahoma LEND interdisciplinary faculty mentoring team.

The program offers interdisciplinary courses on the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center campus that include Interdisciplinary Service Provision Issues offered in the fall and Interdisciplinary Leadership Issues offered in the spring.