Development of a Canadian family medicine pharmacy practice experience programme

Area of Science:

• Pharmacy Education
• Clinical Pharmacy Services
• Family Medicine Integration

Background:

• Canadian pharmacy faculties require 16 weeks of structured practice experience.
• Dalhousie University's College of Pharmacy expanded non-institutional practice sites.
• A new site was established within the Department of Family Medicine.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the development and expansion of clinical pharmacy services.
• To detail the implementation of a family medicine pharmacy practice experience program.
• To evaluate the program's impact on student learning and interprofessional collaboration.

Main Methods:

• Development of clinical pharmacy services by a faculty member.
• Proposal and implementation of a pilot family medicine pharmacy practice program (1994-95).
• Program continuation and expansion based on initial success.

Main Results:

• Pharmacy students successfully met program objectives.
• Students gained appreciation for interprofessional collaboration in patient care.
• Family Medicine Clinics valued student contributions and interprofessional interaction.

Conclusions:

• The family medicine pharmacy practice program effectively enhances student training.
• Integration of pharmacy students into family medicine settings fosters valuable interprofessional experiences.
• The program demonstrates a successful model for expanding pharmacy practice education.