Collaboration between Schools of Pharmacy and Social Work to promote care for a medically underserved population

Abstract

IntroductionMedically underserved populations experience a lower quality of health services and increased incidence of chronic disease. Identified strategies to reduce disparities in health care include educating health professional students on caring for medically underserved populations and integrating interprofessional education into health science curricula. The objective of this paper is to describe an interprofessional course designed for Doctor of Pharmacy and Master of Social Work students to enhance knowledge and identify barriers in providing care to medically underserved populations with an emphasis on homeless populations and examine students’ perceptions of interprofessional education. Challenges to course implementation are also described. MethodsAn elective course including didactic and experiential components was created with the goal of promoting awareness and self-reflection in providing care for medically underserved populations. Students participated in case-based discussions and wrote reflections about their experiences at a homeless clinic. ResultsOf 25 students, 18 participated in pre- and post-surveys. At the end of the course, students’ confidence in communicating with medically underserved populations increased, but interest in working with these patients declined. ConclusionThe course enhanced collaboration and interprofessional communication between the Schools of Pharmacy and Social Work. Factors to consider for future courses include closer examination of the content level of introductory materials and differences in curriculum committee guidelines.