Exploring current provision of interprofessional education during experiential learning placements for student pharmacists in Scotland.

Depasquale, Clare; Arnold, Amy; Cunningham, Scott; Power, Ailsa; Boyter, Anne; Jacob, Sabrina Anne; Portlock, Jane; Addison, Brian

Abstract

Global strategies identify interprofessional education (IPE) as an integral part of transformative policies aimed at developing the health and social care workforce's capacity to strengthen integrated health systems (World Health Organization, 2016). This has led to health and social care regulatory bodies calling for the inclusion of IPE in undergraduate curricula. This study aims to explore structures and processes needed to support planned and unplanned IPE during experiential learning (EL) placements for student pharmacists in Scotland. Online semi-structured focus groups or dyadic interviews were conducted with six EL facilitators, four practice educators and two academic staff. Recordings were transcribed verbatim, and a content analysis approach was used to identify themes. The development of data collection tools and data analysis was guided by the Biggs 3P Model (Biggs, 1993) and the 3P Model of Learning to Collaborate (Freeth & Reeves, 2004). Ethical approval was granted (S292) by the School of Pharmacy and Life Sciences Ethics Review Committee at Robert Gordon University. "Current IPE delivery and context", "Factors affecting IPE delivery and student pharmacist learning", and "Re-thinking current IPE provision" were the three themes identified. Stakeholder views have provided valuable insights into presage, process and product factors relating to the current provision of IPE during EL placements for student pharmacists, highlighting what works well and what challenges – cultural, logistical and regulatory - need to be addressed to ensure high-quality IPE. Research findings highlight the need for future developments to focus on a continuum of learning and a more coordinated approach between the universities and placement providers and between interprofessional health and social care teams. This study has provided a better understanding of current IPE provisions and the changes needed; findings will guide the further development of IPE initiatives to ensure future plans are conducive to supporting effective planned and unplanned interprofessional learning.

Citation

DEPASQUALE, C., ARNOLD, A., CUNNINGHAM, S., POWER, A., BOYTER, A., JACOB, S.A., PORTLOCK, J. and ADDISON, B. 2023. Exploring current provision of interprofessional education during experiential learning placements for student pharmacists in Scotland. Presented at the 2023 Pharmacy education conference: enabling prescriber ready education, 11 September 2023, Manchester, UK.

• Presentation Conference Type: Presentation / Talk
• Conference Name: 2023 Pharmacy education conference: enabling prescriber ready education
• Start Date: Sep 11, 2023
• Acceptance Date: Sep 11, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Sep 11, 2023
• Publication Date: Mar 11, 2024
• Deposit Date: May 13, 2025
• Publicly Available Date: May 27, 2025
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.46542/pe.2024.245.133
• Keywords: Experiential learning; Interprofessional education; Interprofessional learning; Pharmacy education
• Public URL: https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/2836030
• Additional Information: The file associated with this output contains the slide presentation presented at the conference and the abstract, published in a special issue of Pharmacy Education, which have been incorporated into a single file on this repository. ; ; The abstract was published as:; DEPASQUALE, C., CUNNINGHAM, S., PORTLOCK, J., JACOB, S.A., BOYTER, A., POWER, A., and ADDISON, B. 2023. Exploring current provision of interprofessional education during experiential learning placements for student pharmacists in Scotland. Pharmacy education [online], 24(5): conference abstracts of the 2023 Pharmacy education conference: enabling prescriber ready education, 11 September 2023, Manchester, UK , page 1. Available from: https://doi.org/10.46542/pe.2024.245.133