Delivery of interprofessional education through a co-curricular journal reviewing medical literature

Abstract

Background: This study's objective was to determine if student participation in a co-curricular drug information journal would increase interprofessional education (IPE) competency as measured by a validated survey tool.

Interprofessional education activity: To encourage interprofessional collaboration, students from diverse professional backgrounds were split into groups to conduct a literature review, draft an article on a topic of their choice, obtain revisions through formal review, and publish their article in a student-led journal, The ARxCH (The Annual Review of Changes in Healthcare). To measure IPE competency, students completed the validated Interprofessional Collaborative Competencies Attainment Survey (ICCAS) at the beginning and end of the study to measure changes in IPE competency scores.

Discussion: Results of the ICCAS survey found that 15 of the 17 IPE competency questions showed significant positive changes from the pre-survey to the post-survey. These findings suggest that The ARxCH publishing process increased IPE competencies when incorporating students from a variety of healthcare backgrounds and leveraging this novel IPE approach of formal manuscript preparation and group discussion.

Implications: This student-led journal could serve as a prototype for future longitudinal activities designed to enhance student IPE competence through co-curricular activities.

Keywords: Co-curricular; Drug information; Interprofessional collaboration; Interprofessional collaborative competencies attainment survey; Interprofessional education.