Multidisciplinary Problem Based Learning: Venipuncture Practice Arm Research

Abstract

Community colleges need more avenues for undergraduate research during their first two years in higher education but face challenges to building robust research namely the limited time frame students are at a community college and the limited resources for research. To maximize the limited resources and the educational experience for the students, multidisciplinary projects within the community college environment provide both engineering and science students with research opportunities that fit the schedule of a working student, allow interaction between disciplines, provide team-based environments, and foster life-long learning. This paper describes 1) a multidisciplinary project for honor chemistry and engineering students; introduction to engineering students and engineering graphics students in the development of a venipuncture practice arm for nursing students practicing venipuncture techniques in the simulation lab. 2) the institutional supports that promote the development of collaborative and multidisciplinary research projects and 3) recommendations for other community colleges interested in developing multidisciplinary research opportunities throughout their engineering and science curriculums.