FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – A new exchange agreement between a Swedish university and the University of Arkansas grew from an effort to strengthen students’ understanding of the interdisciplinary nature of health care, according to one of its architects.

Fran Hagstrom, associate professor of communication disorders at the University of Arkansas, said the exchange agreement evolved from a study abroad program begun two years ago. She is part of a team of faculty members from two colleges who answered a call from the university’s Honors College for proposals to create interdisciplinary programs. They called the result Health Teams Abroad.

“The aim of the interdisciplinary course we designed was to improve the health culture, to help students understand how all the disciplines must work together for the best outcome for the patient or client,” she said. “We wanted to design a course that would bring together students who are studying various health professions.”

During the past two summers, students majoring in nursing, pre-medical, kinesiology and communication disorders went to Sweden for three weeks to study health care there. They spent the week before their trip learning about each other’s future professions and cramming on the American and Swedish health-care systems.

For Hagstrom and the rest of the faculty team – which includes Neil Allison, Jeanne McLachlin, Nan Smith-Blair, Charles Riggs and Barbara Shadden – that was just the beginning.

This past fall, Chancellor G. David Gearhart signed an agreement on behalf of the College of Education and Health Professions at the University of Arkansas to facilitate the exchange of students and faculty with the School of Health Sciences at Jönköping University in Jönköping, Sweden.

“This agreement allows for us to send up to four students to Jönköping each semester and for Jönköping to send four students to Fayetteville,” Hagstrom said. “We can also have faculty teaching and research exchanges.

“We expect the first exchange to take place in the spring of 2010 with the arrival of nursing students from Jönköping.”

“The work by Dr. Hagstrom and her colleagues gives our students a valuable opportunity to experience another country and culture,” Gearhart said. “While in Sweden and when working with Swedish students and faculty here, Arkansas students will deepen their understanding of how to provide excellent health care to individuals.”

In December, Hagstrom and Smith-Blair, associate professor of nursing, escorted Kristina Brenner Blomqvist, a lecturer in Jönköping’s nursing department, on a visit to the campus and the city of Fayetteville. Blomqvist organized the Swedish portion of the Health Teams Abroad course for the Arkansas students the past two years. While in Fayetteville, she met with students and other faculty members in communication disorders and nursing, and she toured the chemistry and biology laboratories associated with the pre-med program on the Arkansas campus.

“She really loved Fayetteville,” Hagstrom said. “She was taking pictures of the holiday lights downtown – she said the pictures were sure to spark students’ interest. Jönköping also has partnership agreements with Penn State, University Park in Chicago and the University of North Dakota.”

Based on their experiences the past two summers, Hagstrom believes Arkansas students will feel comfortable in Jönköping. She chose the city over metropolitan centers Stockholm and Göteburg because of Jönköping’s lower population and easy accessibility.

“The students get around town easily and feel safe,” she said.

Although learning Swedish names will be a challenge, English is commonly spoken and used in the country. (Jönköping is pronounced “yern-chirping.”)

Although major differences exist in the structures of the two universities, Hagstrom said several areas of study will be of interest to students. In addition to the pre-med, pre-dental, social work, communication disorders and nursing disciplines, students studying kinesiology can take courses in Jönköping’s departments of occupational therapy and prosthetics and orthotics. Research collaboration is also possible in the area of gerontology since the twin study unit at Jönköping is world-renowned.

Hagstrom hopes the agreement will increase the number of students in the College of Education and Health Professions who consider studying abroad.

“They need to get out there,” she said. “It’s very important, especially for those considering applying to professional schools after receiving an undergraduate degree. International study and travel opens new worlds for students in so many ways.”

Hagstrom first traveled to Sweden after becoming friends with another student while completing her doctorate at Clark University in Massachusetts. Since then, she’s been to the country 20 times to attend conferences, participate in international courses and visit.

Students taking part in the exchange will pay tuition and fees of their home university. Academic program coordinators on the respective campuses will determine what courses can be credited toward a student’s degree program at the home university.

Along with Hagstrom, professors on the team that created the course were Charles Riggs, professor of kinesiology, Nan Smith-Blair, interim director of the Eleanor Mann School of Nursing, and Barbara Shadden, professor of communication disorders, all in the College of Education and Health Professions, and Neil Allison, professor of chemistry, and Jeanne McLachlin, who with Allison directs the pre-med program in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences.

The offices of Study Abroad and International Students and Scholars also play an important role in the program.