Future doctors, kinesiologists, pharmacists and nurse practitioners will soon be learning together in the same building at Dalhousie University, just as they will work together to help their patients after graduation.

“Patients need their health-care providers working together to ensure they get the care they need.

But traditional health care doesn’t encourage a team approach. That means people can end up frustrated, looking for the care they need,” said Health and Wellness Minister David Wilson.

“This new building will help students learn from the very beginning to work in teams with other health-care professionals. They’ll learn what each of them can do and focus together on the most important goal: the patient’s health.”

Students from the faculties of medicine and health professions will use the new Collaborative Health Education Building, a five-story shared building scheduled for groundbreaking next month. It will include shared classrooms, a clinical skills and simulation lab, and social spaces to encourage them to work together on projects.

“This approach to health education will train our doctors, nurses and other health professionals to work better together as a team, which means better diagnoses, better treatment, and ultimately better outcomes for patients in Nova Scotia, or anywhere our students practice,” said Richard Florizone, president of Dalhousie University.

The province will contribute $10 million toward the cost of the building over the next 15 years. The building will cost a total of $38.5 million.

Construction will begin next March. The building is expected to be complete by the fall of 2015.

Source: Release