An exploration into student pharmacists’ experiences of practice-based interprofessional education during experiential learning placements

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Depasquale, Clare and Arnold, Amy and Cunningham, Scott and Jacob, Sabrina Anne and Boyter, Anne and Boyd, Matthew and Power, Ailsa and Addison, Brian and Kerr, Aisling (2025) An exploration into student pharmacists’ experiences of practice-based interprofessional education during experiential learning placements. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 89 (6). 101418. ISSN 0002-9459 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajpe.2025.101418)

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Abstract

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore student pharmacists’ experiences of interprofessional education (IPE) during experiential learning (EL) placements. METHOD: A paper questionnaire was used to collect data; distributed to all penultimate/final year student pharmacists enrolled on the Master of Pharmacy (MPharm) programs at Robert Gordon University (RGU) or the University of Strathclyde (UoS) (n=485). Data collection took place between January-March 2023, shortly after student pharmacists attended EL placements in various practice settings. Participation in the research was voluntary; questionnaires were completed anonymously. Thematic analysis was used to identify themes from responses to open-ended questions; aligning to the research aim. Ethical approval was granted by the RGU School Ethics Research Committee. RESULTS: The questionnaire was completed by 328 (67.6%) student pharmacists. Themes identified included (1) Nature of IPE experiences: mostly unplanned/informally planned, with few examples of formally planned IPE; opportunities varied across areas of practice; professional groups varied with medicine and nursing most represented.(2) Factors influencing interprofessional learning: related to EL facilitator (preceptor), student pharmacist, placement and cultural factors. Facilitators included prioritization of IPE/positive role modeling by mentors; barriers included student pharmacists’ perceived lack of preparedness for IPE, lack of specific IPE learning outcomes and sector specific limitations. (3) Student pharmacists’ perceived value of IPE: experiences supported the development of collaborative competencies, personal, professional and interprofessional identity development. CONCLUSION: More focus on the relevance of IPE in the EL curriculum and wider MPharm curriculum could maximize learning from opportunistic IPE. The lack of formally planned IPE opportunities demands further attention.

ORCID iDs

Depasquale, Clare, Arnold, Amy, Cunningham, Scott, Jacob, Sabrina Anne ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8012-7789, Boyter, Anne ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6088-5571, Boyd, Matthew, Power, Ailsa, Addison, Brian and Kerr, Aisling;
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