Evaluation of the Impact of Interprofessional Education Experience on the Perceptions and Attitudes of Pharmacy Students

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the impact of interprofessional education on the perceptions and attitudes of pharmacy students. METHODS: A remodeled version of the Interdisciplinary Education Perceptions Scale (IEPS) was administered during a regular class time for first, second, and third year students. This adapted IEPS was designed and validated to assess three aspects of interprofessional perceptions: competency and autonomy (sub-scale 1), perceived need for cooperation (sub-scale 2), and perception of actual cooperation (sub-scale 3). Data regarding sex, age, previous health care work experience, and previous degree achievement were also collected. RESULTS: A total of 211 pharmacy students completed the survey (73 first-years, 85 second-years, and 53 third-years). Analysis of variants (one-way ANOVA) was used to analyze the potential difference in perceptions between the three groups of pharmacy students using both the total and sub-scale scores. No statistically significant difference was found between total scores, sub-scale 1, sub-scale 2, or sub-scale 3 with regard to pharmacy school year. There was also no significant difference in perceptions with regard to sex, age, work experience, or degree status for any scale scoring. CONCLUSIONS: Perceptions of interprofessional education did not differ between first-, second-, and third-year pharmacy students at the University of Arizona, College of Pharmacy.