Leicester universities work with GPs to put interprofessional care on the curriculum
University of Leicester medical academics have played a leading role in the development of a new programme that puts pharmacy students at De Montfort University (DMU) into primary care to work and learn with medical students.
Final-year Pharmacy students at DMU are being given the opportunity to work with medical students based at GP practices as part of a “timely and thought-provoking” scheme.
Dr Neena Lakhani and the Pharmacy Practice team at DMU have developed the programme in collaboration with Professor Liz Anderson (pictured), lead for interprofessional education in our Medical School, and with Dr Chris Sanders a GP specialist educator. The project will encourage interprofessional working to improve patient care.
The pilot scheme saw Pharmacy and Medical students meet a patient in their home, to undertake a clinical medicines review, discussing and presenting their findings and reporting their deliberations to the GP responsible for their care. It was such a success that the programme is being expanded.
Professor Anderson has led the Interprofessional Education work across the two universities since 2005.
She said: “Recently, clinical pharmacists have been employed in primary healthcare teams (PHCT) to work with GPs and practice nurses.
“We cannot assume because people are together in a building that truly new interprofessional integrated care will be delivered. This requires a commitment to ongoing learning, team-based reflection and a willingness to try new ways of working.”