Pharmacy Student Participation in an Interdisciplinary Case Conference

American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 2003 by Joyner, Pamela U, Tresolini, Carol P, Harward, Donna H, Davis, W Ashley

Objectives. An emphasis on pharmaceutical care has made interdisciplinary teamwork increasingly important. However, required interdisciplinary education is rare in pharmacy education. The purpose of this paper is to discuss pharmacy student participation in a required interdisciplinary case conference designed and implemented for health professional students.

Methods. At the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 439 health professional students, including 113 doctor of pharmacy students, participated in a required series of 2 simulated interdisciplinary case conferences. Evaluation focused on changes in knowledge and attitudes of both students and facilitators and included preconference and postconference surveys of students and postconference surveys of facilitators.

Results. In general, students' knowledge of other health care professionals increased. With regard to pharmacy students' attitudes toward interdisciplinary care, students reported generally positive attitudes, with a greater improvement in their attitudes preconference to postconference in pharmacy students than in other students.

Conclusions. Results show that interdisciplinary experiences can assist students in developing appreciation for the expertise that each health profession offers.

Keywords: interdisciplinary education, pharmacy curriculum, standardized patients

INTRODUCTION

With the emphasis on pharmaceutical care, the role of the pharmacist has become more patient centered and outcome oriented. Pharmacists are expected to work with the patient and other health professionals in designing, implementing, and monitoring a therapeutic plan that will produce specific therapeutic outcomes for the patient.1 Furthermore, according to the doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) accreditation guidelines developed by the American Council on Pharmaceutical Education,2 collaborating with other health professionals is one of the professional competencies that should be achieved through a school of pharmacy curriculum.

Interdisciplinary experiences during a pharmacy student's education can assist students in gaining an appreciation for what other disciplines offer. If students do not have the opportunity to interact with other health professional students, it may be difficult for them to collaborate and interact effectively once they enter professional practice.3 According to Leininger, "many of our health care problems are related to a lack of understanding of and appreciation for the actual and potential contributions of different health disciplines."4

Interdisciplinary experiences need to be relevant and useful to real life practice.5 The National Research Council has stated the importance of active learning to increase learners' retention and understanding, and their ability to transfer learning to novel contexts.6 Real or simulated experiences are necessary to develop students' understanding of the roles and responsibilities and most effective use of health professional team members. Students must also know how to work collaboratively with other disciplines.7

Previous reports have described interdisciplinary education experiences that have been implemented for pharmacy students. Popovich and colleagues described the development, implementation, and evaluation of an elective, interdisciplinary case studies course involving pharmacy, nursing, dietetic, and health promotion education students at Purdue University. The involved faculty members had known each other through other campus activities and had established the goal of developing and implementing an interdisciplinary case studies course. The faculty members believed that students enrolled in this interdisciplinary experience should have completed a significant amount of their course work in order for the students to effectively contribute their professional viewpoint and insights to the patient case discussions. Therefore, the five students from each discipline who were enrolled in this course were in the last professional year of their curricula at Purdue University. Each student wrote a reflective paper addressing their self-learning and team-learning experiences. In addition, each student completed a 10-question self-assessment evaluation. Results demonstrated students' ability to work effectively in teams and achieve interdisciplinary consensus in solving patient problems.

Borrego and colleagues9 implemented pharmacy student participation in a rural interdisciplinary health care training program. The New Mexico Interdisciplinary Health Care for Rural Areas Training Program at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center was established on the belief that the health of the public, primary care development, public cooperatives, and university-community partnerships are better served by training students in interdisciplinary settings. The basis is that the recruitment and retention of providers can be improved if experiences in rural communities can demonstrate and foster professional interdisciplinary relationships in rural practice. A grant from the Health Resources and Service Administration (HRSA) helped begin this interdisciplinary program during 1990. The curriculum consisted of an on-campus phase followed by a rural community phase conducted during the summer. Participation was voluntary, and 65 pharmacy students were involved in this program from 1990 through 1999. Program evaluation demonstrated positive changes in student confidence and attitudes concerning interdisciplinary concepts.