Pharmacy student self-assessment of interprofessional behaviors in inpatient general medicine advanced pharmacy practice experiences.

INTRODUCTION

The World Health Organization defines interprofessional education (IPE) "as an experience where students from two or more professions learn about, from, and with each other to…improve health outcomes." Recent studies have demonstrated that IPE experiences can produce positive outcomes, and the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education Accreditation Standards require IPE experiences to be incorporated in both didactic and experiential components of pharmacy curricula. The purpose of this study was to measure the impact of required rotation interprofessional activities on fourth-year pharmacy students' self-assessment of interprofessional collaboration behaviors.

METHODS

This was an ambidirectional cohort study conducted among students enrolled in their inpatient general medicine advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) at the University of Texas at El Paso School of Pharmacy during academic year 2020-2021. Students completed the Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) competency self-assessment instrument at the beginning and end of their six-week APPE. The survey instrument assessed IPEC competencies in the four IPE domains.

RESULTS

During the 2020-2021 academic year, 29 APPE pharmacy students completed the pre- and post-assessment during their inpatient general medicine APPE. There was a significant increase (P < .001) in IPEC scores from baseline to post-assessment in each domain.

CONCLUSIONS

Students had a positive change in interprofessional collaboration behaviors after completing the required IPE on their inpatient general medicine APPE, which is consistent with prior studies. While students' perceived IPE behaviors improved, further research is needed to elucidate the value of IPE learning activities and impact on learning outcomes.