Evaluating an interprofessional pharmacy and dental hygiene case-based learning activity with student reflections.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Interprofessional collaboration between dentistry and pharmacy has great value but is often lacking in didactic and experiential education, particularly in dental hygiene programs. EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY AND SETTING: A case-based interprofessional assignment was implemented into the dental hygiene curriculum. Students reflected on their experiences and completed the International Collaborative Competencies Attainment Survey (ICCAS) to assess changes in self-reported interprofessional competencies following the activity. FINDINGS: Reflections revealed knowledge gain themes, with medication-related oral health concerns most frequent (53), followed by systemic adverse effects of medications (31), impact of systemic health on oral health (21), drug-drug interactions (17), and drug information (2). Additionally, students identified both future plans to collaborate with a pharmacist (25) and application of clinical knowledge gained (25). Scores from the ICCAS increased significantly in most of the domain statements following the interprofessional activity. DISCUSSION: This interprofessional education (IPE) activity increased student knowledge of the pharmacy profession and provided an experience with interprofessional communication. Students identified the impact of medications on oral health, as well as the value of interprofessional collaboration and communication. SUMMARY: This IPE activity positively impacted student perceptions of interprofessional collaboration with pharmacists.

Undergraduate Student Perceptions of Pharmacy Entrustable Professional Activities.

Introduction: With declining applicant numbers, pharmacy education seeks to effectively communicate the value of the pharmacist on the health care team to attract learners to pharmacy. The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) published entrustable professional activities (EPAs) to outline the expected roles and responsibilities of new pharmacy graduates. However, it is unknown whether these statements resonate with the general public and could potentially attract learners to pharmacy. Description of Innovation: Students in PHAR1001: Orientation to Pharmacy, and online undergraduate course were surveyed using EPA statements. The survey was administered to all students before and after the completion of an undergraduate overview of pharmacy course. Participants were to respond "yes" or "no" to statements assessing the relevance of each EPA to pharmacy practice and the expectation of the activity to occur in all pharmacy practice settings. Findings: A total of 283 students participated in the pre-course survey, with 258 students completing the post-course survey. Pre-course, 11 of the 15 EPA statements had a high level of agreement (>80%) for relevance to practice. The high level of agreement continued in the post-course survey with five EPA statements exhibiting a significant increase in both the relevance and expectation of the role in pharmacy practice. Conclusions: Most students, regardless of prior knowledge of pharmacy, found the EPAs illustrative of pharmacist activities even prior to completing the pharmacy course. Entrustable professional activity statements may be a reasonable means to communicate the value of the pharmacist to the general public.

An Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice Model for Dentistry and Pharmacy.

The aims of this study were to evaluate the feasibility of an interprofessional education and collaborative practice model (IECPM) developed by the School of Dentistry (SOD) and College of Pharmacy (COP) for the University of Minnesota dental clinics and to report results of the needs assessment using specific primary care metrics and medication histories gathered through use of the model in 2015-16. Planning focused on establishing a workflow to implement the IECPM by the SOD and COP. The interprofessional team that provided patient care for the study consisted of 50 dental students, ten dental therapy students, one pharmacy student, one pharmacy resident, one faculty pharmacist, one dental assistant, one faculty dental hygienist, and two dentists. The team selected 190 patients in the SOD clinic for the study based on the inclusion criteria: patients with two or more chronic medical conditions who were taking medications. The 190 patients received a comprehensive dental exam, review of social and medical history, and medication therapy management assessment by the interprofessional team. Specific core primary care metrics (blood pressure, pulse, tobacco use, and diabetes status) and identification of drug therapy problems (DTPs) were monitored and/or screened for during the dental visit. The results showed that the IECPM helped identify that this cohort of patients presented with chronic conditions: 64% had hypertension, 34% had diabetes, and 10.5% reported smoking cigarettes. Several DTPs were identified, of which "needs additional drug therapy" was the most common. This cohort was taking multiple medications (2-34 per patient) to address a variety of medical conditions. The study concluded that the IECPM with the SOD and COP helped address a primary care need that often goes unmet in dental clinics.