Interdisciplinary Education

MEDICAL EDUCATION

Interdisciplinary Approach to Teaching Medication Adherence to Pharmacy and Osteopathic Medical Students
Dana L. Singla, PharmD; George E. MacKinnon III, PhD; Karen J. MacKinnon, RPh; Wisam Younis, PharmD; Ben Field, DO†

The purpose of this project was to demonstrate to pharmacy and osteopathic medical students the value of interdisciplinary education through participation in an interdisciplinary medication adherence project. Each pharmacy student, assuming the role of a pharmacist, was paired with a medical student acting as a physician with a needlestick exposure requiring HIV prophylaxis therapy. Medical students were randomized to participate in one of three levels of pharmacist counseling. After completion of therapy, all students met to discuss adherence barriers, complete an attitudinal survey, and obtain a tablet count. Most pharmacy and medical students agreed or strongly agreed that participation in this project will help them work better within the health care team (82% and 87%, respectively) and that they should have more participation in interdisciplinary projects (83% and 76%, respectively). At the end of the project, these students reported positive attitudes concerning working on interdisciplinary health care education initiatives.

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he benefits of interdisciplinary health care have been demonstrated throughout the health care system. Patients with chronic conditions such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease benefit from the expertise of various health care professionals in providing optimal care.1-8 This benefit is especially pronounced in the elderly population, which uses multiple health care resources and providers.2,9 Despite the benefits associated with interdisciplinary medicine and the team approach to health care, interdisciplinary education is not often formally integrated into health professionals’ education, and there is limited literature available

Dr Singla is assistant professor of

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