Interprofessional learning for dental and pharmacy professionals: learning together changes how you work together.

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Education
• Interprofessional Collaboration
• Pharmacy and Dental Practice

Background:

• Pharmacy and dental professionals in the NHS often work in isolation due to funding structures.
• Limited integration exists between community pharmacy, dental services, and wider NHS systems.
• Understanding interprofessional roles is crucial for effective patient care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the impact of collaboratively designed interprofessional learning events.
• To assess changes in understanding and collaboration between pharmacy and dental professionals.
• To determine if interprofessional learning improves working relationships and patient care.

Main Methods:

• A learning event was designed, developed, and facilitated collaboratively by pharmacy and dental professionals.
• The impact on participating professionals' understanding of roles and collaboration was evaluated.
• Qualitative feedback explored changes in interprofessional working dynamics.

Main Results:

• Pharmacy professionals reported increased confidence in providing dental advice.
• Dental professionals recognized the supportive role of pharmacy professionals in patient management.
• All participants acknowledged the value of multidisciplinary working for role understanding.

Conclusions:

• Collaborative design and facilitation of learning events foster interprofessional understanding.
• Interprofessional learning enhances working relationships between pharmacy and dental sectors.
• Shared learning is vital for engaging and integrating healthcare systems for improved patient outcomes.