Interprofessional student-run primary health care clinics: Implications for pharmacy education in Scotland

Interprofessional student-run primary health care clinics have been a flagship model of health professional education in Canada for many years. The purpose of this study was to determine if there is support for implementing this educational model in the United Kingdom and to highlight the implications for pharmacy education in Scotland.

A cross-sectional postal survey of 3000 randomly selected citizens of Aberdeen city and shire, Scotland, aged 18 years and older.

Of the 824 questionnaires that were returned (response rate 27.5%), more than half of the respondents (62.4%; n = 514) would consider accessing health care from a student-led, walk-in service. The range of services they expect to see includes general health checks (60%; n = 494), help for sexually transmitted diseases (57.5%; n = 474), weight management (56.8%; n = 468), smoking cessation (54.4%; n = 448) and drug misuse services (47.2%; n = 387). Concerns raised pertained to student ability, suitability for children and accessibility. Many comments pertained to the improvement of the current system by offering after-hours care.

The positive response from the general public towards an interprofessional student-run primary health care clinic in Aberdeen suggests that this Canadian model of interdisciplinary health professional education would likely be a successful addition to the pharmacy curriculum in Scotland.