RESEARCH ARTICLE: Are pharmacy students adequately prepared to work in healthcare teams?

Collaborative practice and integrated healthcare are a key focus of healthcare provision internationally. Key attributes of healthcare teams are well documented in the literature and team-working skills have been incorporated into education standards for undergraduate pharmacy students in the United Kingdom (UK). The aim of this research is to explore pharmacy students’ understanding of team-working attributes and their preparedness for their future careers in integrated healthcare teams. Participants were recruited via convenience sampling and four focus groups were conducted. Thematic analysis identified a number of team attributes including communication, clear roles and responsibilities, team dynamics and leadership. Communication and leadership skills were perceived to be the most important attributes in team-working and it is clear from the findings of this research that, in preparation for future practice, students would like to develop these skills through further exposure to opportunities that are incorporated into the undergraduate degree programme.