Impact of an interprofessional international experience abroad on the attitudes of health care professional students

ObjectiveTo measure health care professional students’ attitudes toward international experiential learning and the role of pharmacists on an interprofessional international experience (IIE).MethodsAn electronic survey instrument was distributed to all health professional students from the Midwestern University Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine, Pharmacy, Dental Medicine, Optometry, and Podiatric Medicine participating in an IIE to Guatemala between 2010 and 2013.ResultsOf the 64 participants, 49 (77%) responded to the survey. Overall, students’ ratings of their ability to learn curricular outcomes improved. The most improvement was seen with student’s sense of civic and social responsibility, students with intermediate Spanish-speaking ability (p = 0.03), with female students (p = 0.06), and students who initially felt the experience would not change their values/beliefs (p = 0.06). Interdisciplinary collaboration was rated the most valuable aspect of the experience (79%). Pharmacists were deemed to be accessible educators (61%) and are an important part of the interprofessional team (42%).ConclusionIIEs expand interprofessional collaboration between students, improve student’s sense of civic and social responsibility, and promote an optimal environment for education and professional development.