Development and implementation of a collaborative interprofessional learning program

Abstract

The Lipscomb University and Belmont University Colleges of Pharmacy partnered with Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and School of Nursing and Tennessee State University College of Social Work to produce a longitudinal didactic and experiential curriculum for interprofessional learning. Faculty worked collaboratively to create an interprofessional classroom and clinic learning experience. In total, 29 first professional year students began as a cohort in July 2010 with a two-week long immersion course in interprofessional learning. Weekly seminar sessions for the entire cohort and an ambulatory clinic experience for teams of four distinct interprofessional students at multiple sites began in August and continues through subsequent professional years. Students completed an initial self-assessment in December and met with faculty to receive expert oral feedback on their performance. On a 10-point scale, the mean satisfaction rating in the clinic experience was 8.84. There was a lower level of satisfaction with the didactic material with a mean rating of 4.98. This work suggests positive benefits, as well as some areas for improvement, of interprofessional students working together in experiential settings and provides a format for other institutions to follow.