Abstract
The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of a peer-taught interprofessional education (IPE) activity on pharmacy and physician assistant (PA) student self-assessed confidence and attitudes related to professional skills. First-year pharmacy (n = 210) and PA (n = 45) students participated in a two-hour IPE activity. Forty-five teams consisting of one PA and at least four pharmacy students completed three peer-teaching stations focused on diabetes device education, pulmonary device teaching/case workup, and physical assessment skills. Students completed a pre- and post-activity confidence survey and a post-activity attitudes survey. For pharmacy students, highest confidence gains were noted on the items related to performing a physical exam. For PA students, largest gains were noted on the items related to insulin delivery systems. Eighty-three percent of students either agreed or strongly agreed with the statement “I learned things during this IPE activity that I will implement in clinical practice.” Seventy six percent of students felt that the physical assessment station was “beneficial or very beneficial” to their learning. A vast majority of students noted the IPE activity “somewhat or definitely” enhanced their communication with other health professionals and promoted a climate of mutual respect. In conclusion, peer teaching improved student attitudes and confidence.
Highlights
Pharmacists and physician assistants (PA) routinely collaborate through patientcentered communications or as members of interprofessional teams
interprofessional education (IPE) activity that I will implement in clinical practice.”
The purpose of this study is to describe the impact of a peer-taught professional skills-based IPE activity on pharmacy and PA student confidence and attitudes
Summary
Pharmacists and physician assistants (PA) routinely collaborate through patientcentered communications or as members of interprofessional teams. Use of tools such as peer teaching which reinforce curricular concepts with fewer faculty resources can be useful for educators looking to address specific barriers to IPE provision [4,5,6,7,8]. Cognitive congruence implies that the peer-teachers share the same/similar knowledge base and language as those they are teaching. Social congruence refers to the peer-teacher and student sharing similar social roles and norms [9]. Cognitive and social congruence suggest that learning through the same knowledge framework within similar social roles can allow students to overcome their learning deficiencies and reinforce existing knowledge [9]. Sadowski and colleagues highlighted a peer-teaching program with physical therapy students providing ambulatory device training to pharmacy students. Lipton and colleagues found that training provided by pharmacy students improved medical and nursing student knowledge of Medicare Part D [5]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
