An International Interprofessional Partnership: UMB and the University of Haifa

What does the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) have in common with a university half a world away? On a trip to Israel in 2013, then-UMB President Jay A. Perman, MD, saw the potential for partnership between UMB and the University of Haifa (UH) based upon a shared passion for academic excellence and social engagement in their communities and around the world. 

Since then, 100 students and faculty have participated in the UMB-UH Partnership, which involves community-based, interdisciplinary training that fosters collaboration across professions and cultures, informs civic awareness, and develops cultural competencies that students will incorporate into their professional practice. 

The partnership is bidirectional. It allows students from UH and the UMB schools of social work, law, and nursing to go overseas and learn local approaches that promote the participation of diverse populations around shared civic and social concerns. Students of both countries return home more prepared to serve their communities in their professional capacities and to engage in collaborative community projects that enhance social justice and reduce social, economic, and health disparities.

“Traveling to Israel and participating in the interprofessional global health experience reinvigorated my passion for working in the Baltimore community,” says Rachael Parran, MS, BSN, RN, a doctoral student in the School of Nursing. “I learned that our world is large and our cultures may be different but we can learn from each other to improve the conditions in our own communities, and that working collaboratively with other disciplines is an effective approach to tackling complex issues.”

Traveling to Israel and participating in the interprofessional global health experience reinvigorated my passion for working in the Baltimore community.“

RACHAEL PARRAN, SCHOOL OF NURSING DOCTORAL STUDENT

These experiences would not be possible without the philanthropic support of donors such as Leonard Attman; Alvin Katz, CPA; Abba Poliakoff, JD; and Steve Dubin, JD, who collectively hosted a gathering of friends and supporters celebrating the partnership between the two institutions.