The purpose of the present study was to determine whether an interprofessional virtual patient educational activity improved interprofessional competencies in pharmacy, physician assistant, and physical therapy graduate students. Seventy-two fifth semester pharmacy (n = 33), fourth semester physician assistant (n = 27) and fourth semester physical therapy (n = 12) graduate students participated in the study. Participants were stratified by discipline and randomized into control (n = 38) and experimental groups (n = 34). At baseline and at study completion, all participants completed an original, investigator-developed survey that measured improvement in selected Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) competencies and the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS). The experimental group had statistically significantly greater odds of improving on a variety of IPEC competencies and RIPLS items. The use of a single, interprofessional educational activity resulted in having a greater awareness of other professions' scopes of practice, what other professions have to offer a given patient and how different professions can collaborate in patient care.

The Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education Standards 2016 state that colleges of pharmacy must assess student achievement and readiness to contribute as a member of an interprofessional collaborative patient care team. There are a limited number of assessment tools available to achieve this part of the Standards. The purpose of this Case Study Report is to describe the process that one college of pharmacy took to develop an interprofessional education (IPE) assessment tool to be used for their longitudinal assessment approach for IPE in the didactic portion of the curriculum. Strategies for the development of an assessment tool are provided through three themes: continuous refinement, collaboration and streamlining. Next steps for the implementation of the assessment tool, as well as evaluating its validity and reliability, are discussed.

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There are significant limitations among the few prior studies that have examined the development and implementation of interprofessional education (IPE) experiences to accommodate a high volume of students from several disciplines and from different institutions. The present study addressed these gaps by seeking to determine the extent to which a single, large, inter-institutional, and IPE simulation event improves student perceptions of the importance and relevance of IPE and simulation as a learning modality, whether there is a difference in students’ perceptions among disciplines, and whether the results are reproducible. A total of 290 medical, nursing, pharmacy, and physical therapy students participated in one of two large, inter-institutional, IPE simulation events. Measurements included student perceptions about their simulation experience using the Attitude Towards Teamwork in Training Undergoing Designed Educational Simulation (ATTITUDES) Questionnaire and open-ended questions related to teamwork and communication. Results demonstrated a statistically significant improvement across all ATTITUDES subscales, while time management, role confusion, collaboration, and mutual support emerged as significant themes. Results of the present study indicate that a single IPE simulation event can reproducibly result in significant and educationally meaningful improvements in student perceptions towards teamwork, IPE, and simulation as a learning modality.