Chapter 8. Cooperative Education
Cooperative education (Co-op) is a powerful vehicle for helping students develop the set of oral health competencies needed for integrated primary care delivery. This curricular innovation provides students with meaningful, semester-long immersion experiences in real-world employment settings, an arrangement that differs from service-learning in both depth and breadth. During a Co-op semester, students are paid for their labor and receive academic credit. They do not take courses or pay tuition.
Creating a Co-op to equip students with the skills to integrate oral health competencies into primary care practice requires partnering with a primary care provider that is already committed to oral health integration. Students from the health sciences who participate in the Co-op will have an opportunity to develop core oral health competencies while gaining experience in integrated primary care delivery.
Critical elements of a successful Co-op program include: