Best Teaching Practices in Patient Care Experience and Interprofessional Education Shape Kinesiology Students’ Career Path

Undergraduate kinesiology students often graduate with strong theoretical knowledge yet limited application. The Mobility Team Program (MTP) course was developed to address this gap through structured, experiential learning where students facilitate patient mobility, defined as the extent to which patients are able to move independently or with assistance during hospitalization, under clinical supervision. This descriptive program evaluates the course examining student reflections, feedback from nursing staff, and contributions to patient mobility. The course is grounded in Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory, guided by the National Society for Experiential Education (NSEE) principles, and enriched by the Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) core competencies. Thematic analysis of student reflections (n = 37) showed that students’ greatest accomplishments involved improving patient mobility (65.9%) and patient communication, defined as rapport-building, patient mobility education, and motivational strategies to encourage mobility (34.4%). The most frequent challenges involved interprofessional communication, defined as communication with nursing staff regarding roles, mobility clearance and coordination of mobility sessions (52.6%) and motivating patients (47.4%). Students reported patient communication (57.0%) and interprofessional communication (27.9%) as key skills gained. Nursing staff reported high confidence in student safety, professionalism, and contribution to workflow. Mobility tracking indicated that students supported more than 1300 ambulation sessions, totaling approximately 179 miles of patient walking. The MTP course demonstrates a scalable model for embedding experiential and interprofessional education into undergraduate kinesiology education. This work offers a reproducible framework for kinesiology programs seeking to enhance student readiness for health professions.