Sustainability of a practice-based interprofessional introductory pharmacy practice experience course

Abstract

Objective. To describe a successfully sustained interprofessional introductory pharmacy practice experience (IPPE) in which third-year pharmacy students were paired with nonpharmacist practitioners. Methods. Course data were retrospectively reviewed and analyzed to reveal details about the program. Provider p Articipant numbers and student perception data were reviewed and reported on. Results. The number of students and providers p Articipating increased during the 13 years of the program. On average, preceptors p Articipated for 3 years and hosted 4 pharmacy students. Students consistently agreed the course helped increase student communication competencies and integration into interdisciplinary practice (mean agreement of 88.4% and 91.6%, respectively). Conclusion. A required interprofessional IPPE course designed to develop students’ self-confidence working and communicating with nonpharmacist practitioners has been successfully sustained for more than a decade. Students report improvements in self-confidence and achievement of the course’s primary outcomes.