gms | German Medical Science

Purpose: In joint modules with interactive learning sequences, students of different health professions can be taught basic interprofessional elements and at the same time revise their preconceived notions and understanding of other health professions [1], [2]. The lecture series “Interprofessional Pathways” focuses on collaborative practice and aims to impart knowledge of the other professional groups as well as their different areas of responsibility and profession-specific competences.

Methods: Two 3-hour teaching sessions revolved around future situations of possible interprofessional interactions between medicine and pharmacy, and included pharmaceutical triage, enquiries about drug interactions, and validation of prescriptions. Pre-to-post change of students’ perceptions of interprofessional teamwork and collaborative practice was measured with the Student Perceptions of Physician-Pharmacist Interprofessional Clinical Education (SPICE) instrument.

Results: The joint teaching sessions reached 143 students of medicine and 51 students of pharmacy. SPICE items showed statistically significant improvements in the understanding of one’s own role and that of the other profession as well as knowledge of cost reduction in healthcare through interprofessional collaborations.

Conclusions: The mixture of introductory teaching elements and interactive learning sequences influenced both the utilitarian approach and the emancipatory element of interprofessional cooperation. The modular concept of two sessions of three hours allows for flexible embedding in different curricula and may be transferable to other teaching settings.