(136) Team-Ready: Thematic Integration of Interprofessional Education into Required Curriculum

Objective : Interprofessional education (IPE) requires student pharmacists to learn about, from, and with members or student members of the health care team. Preparing team-ready graduates requires consistent IPE experiences, but longitudinal IPE integration remains a challenge. This is a description of an intentional thematic integration of IPE into all four years of a required PharmD curriculum.

Methods: Our thematic IPE integration is grounded in the Quintuple Aim and the Interprofessional Education Collaborative competencies. The themes are: IPE foundations in year 1, quality improvement and patient safety in year 2, population health in year 3, and interprofessional collaborative practice in year 4. Learning pedagogies include team-centered classroom-based learning, in-person and virtual simulations, online discussions, structured interprofessional shadowing, real-world project-based learning, and experiential learning. Programmatic IPE assessment is conducted utilizing the Interprofessional Collaborative Competencies Attainment Survey (ICCAS) at the end of each year, along with an IPE reflection.

Results: In aggregate, students interacted with at least nine unique health professions during the PharmD curriculum, with top professions being prescribers, nurses, and social workers. Positive changes in ICCAS were reported consistently by students at the end of each year, with the largest change observed in years 1 and 4. On average, 98% to 100% of fourth year students reported confidence interacting with interprofessional teams due to the 4-year integrated IPE curriculum. Qualitative analysis of written reflections highlights understanding of being a contributing member of a health care team.

Conclusions: The longitudinal, thematic integration of IPE into all four years of the required PharmD curriculum prepares student pharmacists to confidently contribute as a member of a health care team. Key challenges include coordination and sufficient human and financial resources.