Interprofessional peer teaching: The value of a pharmacy student-led pharmacology course for physical therapy students.

BACKGROUND

This report describes the creation, implementation, and evaluation of an interprofessional pharmacy student-led pharmacology course for physical therapy students. The course was designed using a flipped classroom model and a peer-assisted learning framework.

INTERPROFESSIONAL EDUCATION ACTIVITY

We describe the development, design, assessment, and evaluation of a pharmacy student-led pharmacology course for physical therapy students. This report focuses specifically on the interprofessional aspect of the course, which was measured using the student perceptions of physician-pharmacist interprofessional clinical education (SPICE) instrument.

DISCUSSION

The SPICE instrument was measured across two cohorts in 2015 and 2016. Each cohort consisted of approximately 50 physical therapy students. After implementation of the course, there were significant improvements across all three domains of the SPICE instrument: interprofessional teamwork, roles/responsibilities for collaborative practice, and patient outcomes from collaborative practice (P < .01). Qualitative feedback from the physical therapy students and pharmacy student teaching assistants was positive and emphasized the benefits of interprofessional peer teaching.

IMPLICATIONS

Overall, this interprofessional peer teaching model effectively improved interprofessional attitudes while accomplishing didactic needs. This innovative course may serve as a model for interprofessional education in different subject areas or across other health professions programs.