Communication lessons from MHA 2019 Orientation Week

Matthew Jerome (MHA '19) assists Ellie Keuter
(MHA '19) on the UI High Adventure Challenge
Course during Orientation Week

By: Ellie Keuter (MHA '19) and Matthew Jerome (MHA '19)

Ellie Keuter: I have been reflecting on our team building exercises during the first-year MHA student orientation at the UI High Adventure Challenge Course. We worked together to do things like swinging on a rope between two platforms while carrying a cup of water, balancing on a wooden “pirate ship,” and crossing a tight rope using our new classmates for support and balance.

In one of the challenges, we had to develop a strategy to cross some “lava” without touching the ground by stepping on two rubber squares. If we stopped touching a square, we would lose it to the lava. Angie, one of the facilitators, gave us the chance to get a few additional squares, for a price… but we wouldn’t know the cost until after we’d accepted the deal! We decided to go for it, and the payment was that I had to cross the field blindfolded.

Luckily, my teammate Matthew Jerome (MHA ’19) helped me out. Since I was blindfolded, Matthew gave me the “play-by-play”, so I knew what other people were doing and what strategies they were using to cross the field. This was a great example of active listening and communication: I couldn’t see what was going on, so I had to rely on my teammate to tell me what was happening. I can imagine this skill will come in handy for health administrators who aren’t working on the front lines of healthcare delivery, so they must rely on the clinicians and staff to give them the “play-by-play” about how to improve policies and procedures in pursuit of the ultimate goal of providing the best possible care for patients.

Matthew Jerome: I agree with Ellie that the challenge course was an awesome experience. During the challenge, I communicated to Ellie while she was blindfolded. This simple activity reinforced a powerful message: communication, paired with active listening, can overcome the most difficult of obstacles. The teamwork we exhibited and the trust we had to have in each other made the challenge a very rewarding experience.

During the time that Ellie was blindfolded in the challenge, I knew that she would rely on me to effectively communicate with her about what was happening around us. In addition, I had to rely on her to trust me. We could only achieve the goal of the challenge by working together. After each activity, we were asked how the challenges we faced would tie into the health care field. It was very clear that in the real world of healthcare, effective communication would be essential to the success of a team, department, organization, or any other groups that have to work together. Breakdowns in communication in the real world can result in worse outcomes than falling in fake lava!

Overall, the day of team building did wonders for our cohort. We were able to get to know each other in more meaningful ways. The classroom can only teach so much, and this experience allowed us to explore new ways to collaborate and solve problems. It pushed us outside our comfort zones, which is an essential part of learning and growing.