On Tuesday November 12th, 25 P3 pharmacy students from the Advanced Geriatric Pharmacotherapy elective had a chance to practice what they have been learning all semester. The students participated in an interprofessional student led health, wellness, and falls prevention screen for adults over 65. The event was hosted by the Department of Physical Therapy at Independence Square on the URI Kingston campus.
This screen followed balance testing and a dietary form administered to volunteers earlier in the Fall and included students from four different health disciplines: pharmacy, nutrition, communicative disorders, and physical therapy. Students worked together in interprofessional teams to screen the general health and fitness of individual volunteers. Each small team assessed the falls risk of a volunteer to make individualized recommendations for a healthy lifestyle.

I really enjoyed the event today. In my opinion the experiences that the pharmacy students gain in collaborative learning is more important than when we are learning alone. I think it was great to learn how other professional students work and how to be a member of a team. Usually we work with nursing majors and medical students but it is important to learn how the physical therapy students operate as well.- Pharmacy Student

The event encouraged students to put their clinical skills and knowledge learned in the classroom into practice with volunteers from the community. It offered an opportunity for collaboration between disciplines and students to use their respective educational backgrounds to gather information and problem-solve as a team…. thus advancing communication and critical thinking skills. Students learned with and about each other, and through their teamwork, they offered a valuable service to community members over 65.
 

A few of the pharmacy student quotes about the experience:
“Today I had such a great time working with my patient and the physical therapy student. The PT student was so well informed, easy to communicate with and was so comfortable with our patient. This was really our first chance to work with a “real” patient. It was so nice to put a face to a case, to really take a second look at recommendations and realize how little they suit that patient. I went in with a million recommendations and ended up completely changing the focus. Being in front of a real patient forced me to find a way to connect to them. I stepped away from my overly critical clinical mind and focused more on what the patient wanted, spending more time listening than counseling. I really loved the entire experience and would do it again in a heart beat.”
 
“I feel that I really got a lot out of today’s activity. It was a great way to demonstrate how each discipline contributes to patient care. It was also helpful to apply our knowledge to real patients who have real concerns. With patients, it is unlikely that a minor drug interaction ranks very highly on the list of things they are worried about. It is easy to forget that in our classroom experience. I loved this experience and really hope that it continues to be offered to future classes.”

For more information contact, Erica Estus