The impact of a short-term medical mission trip: Evaluation of pharmacy interventions and perceived clinical competence in an interprofessional setting

ObjectivesTo describe student pharmacists’ impact on an interprofessional team through documented interventions and to evaluate student health care professionals’ perceived competence concerning changes in therapeutic knowledge through participation in a medical mission trip.MethodsClinical interventions made by student pharmacists were prospectively collected during four clinic days. Intervention data included adult and pediatric dosing recommendations, medication recommendations, therapeutic substitution based on available formulary, and counseling. A pre-survey and a post-survey were anonymously administered to all pharmacy and physician assistant student participants. The survey consisted of questions based on a Likert scale that assessed perceived competence of medication knowledge and opinions regarding their participation in an interprofessional environment.ResultsStudent pharmacists made 624 interventions, including counseling of 420 patients, 78 dosing changes, 63 pediatric dosing calculations, 35 therapeutic substitutions, and 28 medication recommendations. A total of 25 student health care professionals completed the survey. Improvements were found in all questions pertaining to medication knowledge (p < 0.005). There was no difference with regard to opinions related to the medical mission trip’s effect on improving clinical skills (p = 0.414) and understanding of an interprofessional health care setting (p = 0.564) due to initial positive opinions in the pre-survey.ConclusionParticipation in the medical mission trip allowed student pharmacists to provide therapeutic interventions as a member of an interprofessional team. It also provides a unique opportunity for student health care professionals to practice clinical knowledge and improve perceived clinical competence in a direct patient care setting.