Pharmacy practice is changing to accommodate the need for pharmacists to be better team\nmembers in newly emerging collaborative care and integrated health systems. Pharmacy schools\ncould lead this change by educating students to be effective participants in these relatively new\nmodels of care. Schools are encouraged to follow the approach outlined in the recent guidance\npublished by the Health Professions Accreditors Collaborative (HPAC) for interprofessional practice\nand education (â??the new IPEâ?). This approach includes articulating an IPE plan, establishing goals,\nassessing student achievement of the necessary IPE competencies, developing educational plans\nthat are multi-faceted and longitudinal, and modifying the existing assessment/evaluation process\nto ensure the quality of the IPE effort. These curricular decisions should be based on existing and\nnew research on the effectiveness of IPE on studentâ??s attitudes, knowledge, skills, and behavior.\nA key decision is how to create effective interactions between pharmacy students and those of\nother professions. Educational emphasis should be directed toward team building skills, not just\nindividual competencies. The pharmacy faculty probably need to enhance their teaching abilities\nto accommodate this change, such as learning new technology (e.g., simulations, managing online\nexchanges) and demonstrating a willingness to teach students from other professions.
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