Turkish medical and pharmacy students’ attitudes towards physician-pharmacist collaboration and readiness for interprofessional learning

Abstract

Background and Aims: Collaborative efforts between pharmacists and physicians have been shown to improve treatment outcomes and patient satisfaction. Inter-professional learning, which is a foundational element for both medical and pharmacy students, can enhance their professional identity and provide them with a comprehensive understanding of their interdisciplinary roles. Moreover, the willingness of healthcare students to participate in collaborative learning is crucial for the positive impact of interprofessional education on fostering effective collaboration between healthcare professionals. This study investigated the attitudes of Turkish medical and pharmacy students towards physician-pharmacist collaboration and assessed their readiness for interprofessional learning. Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted at Atatürk University, Türkiye. Turkish versions of the Attitude Towards Pharmacist-Physician Collaboration Scale (SATP²C) and Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) were utilised. Results: In the comparison between pharmacy and medical students, pharmacy students scored significantly higher than medical students in both the overall SATP²C and RIPLS scores.Conclusion: Based on this information, it is believed that incorporating a course into the curricula of both medicine and pharmacy programmes, designed to promote interaction between students in these disciplines and provide medical students with comprehensive information about the competencies of pharmacists, would be advantageous in enhancing healthcare outcomes.

Keywords

• interprofessional relations
• interprofessional education
• medical students
• pharmacy students