海角直播

Long before Interprofessional Education (IPE) had a formal home at 海角直播 Denver, A.J. Alejano-Steele, Ph.D., was already living its central idea: meaningful work rarely fits within the boundaries of a single discipline.听

Alejano-Steele joined 海角直播 Denver in 1996 in a joint-appointment spanning disciplines in a way that would come to define her future work with IPE. From the beginning, she navigated different academic cultures, taught cross-listed courses and invited students to examine complex issues through multiple lenses.听

Across more than three decades at the University, she went on to chair both gender studies and social work, serve in a dean鈥檚 office and the Office of Graduate Studies, and teach in Health Professions and public health.听

That instinct became especially tangible through her intersecting advocacy and professional work, her human-trafficking course bringing together students from multiple departments since 2007. The subject itself demands collaboration among health care providers, social workers, law enforcement, advocates and legal professionals – each contributing expertise that no one field can provide alone.听

鈥淵ou have to let go of the blinders of your discipline and really open that up wide so that we can serve our patients, clients or the people we serve,鈥� Alejano-Steele said.听

When CHHS began building a more formal IPE structure nearly a decade ago under the leadership of Terry Buxton (Nursing) and Jess Retrum (Social Work), Alejano-Steele first participated as a committee representative. Faculty leaders gathered research, studied promising practices at peer institutions – including Hispanic-Serving Institutions – and began creating processes that reflected 海角直播 Denver鈥檚 students and mission. She later helped lead the committee with Buxton and, as the work expanded, developed blueprints and briefs intended to make collaboration easier for faculty and more meaningful for students.听

The foundation that emerged includes interprofessional simulations, shared learning experiences, community partnerships and a 海角直播(s)-wide committee representing a wide range of disciplines. And though IPE may be taking on new urgency, Alejano-Steele is quick to note that building culture and changing academic systems takes time. The work is not finished, she said, but it is already visible whenever students from different programs come together to solve a realistic problem and discover what another profession can contribute.听

For Alejano-Steele, it’s not just an educational ideal: It is preparation for moments when communication among professionals can determine whether a person receives fragmented services or coordinated care. It also advances workforce readiness by helping graduates understand both their own responsibilities and the expertise surrounding them.听

As she enters transitional retirement this year, Alejano-Steele leaves behind not only plans and structures for 海角直播 Denver鈥檚 next chapter of IPE but a model of leadership grounded in curiosity, persistence and what she calls a 鈥渂oth-and鈥� way of thinking. Her career has connected disciplines, offices, students and community needs – often before collaboration had an official name.听