Medical and pharmacy students’ perspectives of remote synchronous interprofessional education sessions

BACKGROUND: Interprofessional education (IPE) at university level is an essential component of undergraduate healthcare curricula, as well as being a requirement of many associated regulatory bodies. In this study, the perception of pharmacy and medical students’ of remote IPE was evaluated. METHODS: A series of IPE sessions took place via Zoom and students’ feedback was collected after each session. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected and analysed. RESULTS: 72% (23/32) of medical students strongly agreed that the sessions had helped to improve their appreciation of the role of pharmacists, whereas 37% (22/59) of pharmacy students strongly agreed, reporting a median response of ‘somewhat agreeing’, that their appreciation of the role of general practitioners had improved. This difference was found to be statistically significant (p = 0.0143). Amongst students who responded, 55% (53/97) identified remote teaching as their preferred mode of delivery for an IPE session. CONCLUSIONS: The survey demonstrated that the students valued the development of their prescribing skills as well as the ancillary skills gained, such as communication and teamwork. Remote IPE can be a practical means of improving medical and pharmacy students’ understanding of each other’s professional roles, as well as improving the skills required for prescribing.