Didactic and experiential interprofessional, inter-institutional courses at a private college of pharmacy

Creating opportunities for students of multiple health professions to achieve the interprofessional competencies is critical to prepare them to enter the health care system and provide effective team-based care. Challenges can be experienced by any health profession school when establishing these opportunities; independent, private schools with limited health profession degrees may experience even greater difficulty. As an independent, private college, St. Louis College of Pharmacy (STLCOP) has successfully created interprofessional courses with three neighboring schools. In Interprofessional Team Seminar (IPTS), students participate in an interprofessional experience at St. Louis University (SLU) as part of the required Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience in professional year (PY)-3. SLU students enrolled in medicine, nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, social work, and physician assistant programs join with STLCOP student pharmacists to discuss patient cases with an emphasis on patient safety, prioritizing goals, and teamwork. An elective course, “Indigent Populations: Focus on Health Literacy” is co-coordinated with Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL) and Goldfarb School of Nursing at Barnes-Jewish College (GSN) faculty and allows PY-2 and PY-3 student pharmacists to work collaboratively with students from GSN to serve the homeless in the city. The aim is to describe lessons learned and share strategies for successful interprofessional education design and implementation among similar institutions.