Project Investigator(s): Jason Min, Lecturer, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Larry Leung, Lecturer, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Rachel Goossen, MA Student, Educational Studies
Project Description
Our research project aims to understand the outcomes of a novel practicum rotation for fourth-year PharmD students in 2019-2020. This practicum is the first of its kind at UBC where students will be fully supervised by a non-pharmacy health professional (e.g., a physician, physical therapist, or nurse). The research team seeks to assess student learning outcomes and perceptions of the practicum experience, as well as practice educator experiences, skills, knowledge, and attitudes regarding the supervision of pharmacy students. We seek support for data collection and analysis.
Research Questions
Understand the impact of the elective practicum on student and practice educator interest and understanding of interprofessional collaboration. • Assess the effectiveness of the required learning activities (shadowing, online discussion, project) within the practicum rotation. • Understand the impact on student learning when supervised by a non-pharmacist health professional versus a pharmacist • Determine the prerequisite skills, attitudes, and knowledge necessary for students to succeed in an interprofessional practicum setting. • Determine the practice educator and practicum site attributes necessary to create an effective interprofessional learning experience for pharmacy students.
Impact on teaching and learning at UBC
No other Pharmacy school in Canada has a learning practicum where students are supervised solely by a non-pharmacist health professional in a community-based, clinical setting. By fulfilling our research aims, we will contribute crucial knowledge to healthcare teaching that will impact understanding of all healthcare training. Translating the learning to other health discipline programs can increase the capacity of sites and provide enriching learning environments that reflect the collaborative nature of tomorrow’s healthcare. Providing adequate support to students who may be placed in sites that have never had pharmacist involvement will also provide valuable learnings for rural/remote and distributed learning sites.