PHARMACY STUDENT PERSPECTIVES OF INTERPROFESSIONAL LEARNING IN A SIMULATED WARD ENVIRONMENT COURSE

Objectives: Having effective communication strategies between health care professionals is vital. In undergraduate curricula, Interprofessional Learning (IPL) is one manner with which to better prepare students for their health care careers in a multidisciplinary environment. We aimed to explore pharmacy students’ opinions of an IPL course in their final year of the Bachelor of Pharmacy programme at The University of Auckland.Methods: The course was completed alongside medical and nursing students, in an acute hospital ward setting. Students completed a Likert-type questionnaire with associated open-ended questions. Responses were compared between pharmacy, nursing and medical students. An in-depth thematic analysis of the pharmacy student’s open-ended questions was completed using an iterative process.Results: Significant differences were seen in response to Likert-type questions regarding the prioritisation of care, systematic assessment of patients and communication strategies. Interesting themes emerg...