Building an Innovative, Integrated, Interprofessional Longitudinal Curriculum
Susan P. Bruce, PharmD, BCPS, Seth P. Brownlee, PharmD, Sharon K. Hull, MD, MPH, John D. Sutton, MD
Northeastern Ohio Universities Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy, Rootstown, OH
OBJECTIVES
RESULTS
Interprofessional education is essential for health professions
educators to prepare future practitioners.1 This report
describes the structure, successes and challenges of
implementing an innovative, integrated curriculum bridging
pharmacy and medicine.
During the P1/M1 and P2/M2 years, students spend
approximately 500 and 150 hours, respectively, together in basic
science coursework (highlighted with light blue in the grid) and
longitudinal interprofessional activities (highlighted with purple
n
in the grid). Opportunities for P3/M3 interaction are limited
since the medical students are off campus. Activities are
planned for integration in the P3/M2 curricula, and will
incorporate interprofessional activities between P4/M3 and
P4/M4 when the pharmacy charter class enters APPEs.
BACKGROUND
Creation of a doctor of pharmacy curriculum and revisions to a
doctor of medicine curriculum provide an opportunity for
integration of curricular content aimed to achieve 50% overlap
between programs. Activities are interprofessional and
interactive when possible. A longitudinal course sequence
exists in both colleges. Longitudinal Curriculum Management
Team leaders work with content experts in clinical sciences and
the humanities to weave themes throughout the longitudinal
courses (vertical integration). Longitudinal curriculum faculty
work with faculty in courses running concurrently to integrate
related content (horizontal integration). Initial efforts have
focused on developing activities in the first 2 professional
years. Planning is underway to develop programming for the
final 2 years, including a proposed combined epilogue/
capstone at the end of the curriculum.
LONGITUDINAL CURRICULAR THEMES
Patient Care
Population
Health
Longitudinal
Curriculum
Professionalism
Challenges to implementing the interprofessional curriculum
include scheduling, differences in assessment, and faculty/staff
resources.
FUTURE DIRECTION
EXAMPLES OF VERTICAL INTEGRATION
IMPACTS
2
Project
 Years 1-2 (duration 18 months)
 Interprofessional Medicine and Pharmacy students
Addressing Community health Through Service
 Longitudinal interprofessional team based project whereby
students identify a health related issue affecting their
assigned community and proposed an evidence-based
mechanism to overcome the issue
 Incorporated competencies: population health, evidencebased medicine, practice based learning, communication
skills, interprofessional teamwork and professionalism
Service
Professional
Identity
Heart Disease Group Project3
 Year 2 (duration 6 months)
 Longitudinal interprofessional team based, self-directed case
regarding the care of a single patient
 Incorporated competencies: patient care, medical knowledge,
practice based learning, evidence-based medicine, systems
based learning, communication skills, interprofessional
teamwork and professionalism
EXAMPLE OF HORIZONTAL INTEGRATION
Blending Basic Sciences & Longitudinal Curricular Themes
 Year 1, Block 4 (duration 8 weeks)
 Brain, Mind & Behavior: Medicine and pharmacy students
learn normal and abnormal function of the central nervous
system. This course serves as a foundation for future courses in
both disciplines including Pharmacotherapeutics (pharmacy
students) and Principles of Medicine (medicine students).
 Longitudinal Curriculum: themes emphasized in this block
include professional identity, professionalism and patient care.
Building on the concepts covered in BMB, interprofessional
activities focus on:
 Suicide & depression presentation in the health professional
 Impaired professionals
 Ethics (involuntary commitment, understanding autism, pain
management)
Initiatives underway to continue building the interprofessional
curriculum include:
 Structuring student assessment around the IOM
competencies for health professions education
 Articulating a framework that clearly communicates the
complexities of the longitudinal curriculum
 Transitioning the existing Evidence Based Medicine course
to an interprofessional course
 Pursuing vertical/horizontal integration opportunities with
the basic sciences courses
 Developing interprofessional skills assessments
IMPLICATIONS
This model provides numerous scholarship opportunities.
Dissemination of our findings has occurred and will continue
with increased experience.
REFERENCES
EXAMPLE OF INTEGRATION ACROSS COLLEGES
1.
Patient Interviewing
2.
 Year 1 Prologue, Block 1 longitudinal curriculum
 Pharmacy and medicine students learn interviewing technique
and practice multiple times by interacting with standardized
patients in the Wasson Clinical Skills Assessment Center
 Incorporated competencies: patient care, professional identity,
communication skills, professionalism
3.
Greiner AC, Knebel E (Eds.) Health professions education: a bridge
to quality. Institute of Medicine, 2003.
Bruce, SP, McGory RM, Hull SK, Sutton JD. IMPACTS Project:
Interprofessional Medicine and Pharmacy students Addressing
Community health Through Service. Presented at the 2009 AACP
Annual Meeting.
Ulbrich TR, Sutton JD, McEwen HA, et al. The Heart Disease Group
Project (HDGP): A Longitudinal, Team-Based, Self-Study Case Using
Interprofessional Teams. Presented at the 2010 AACP Annual
Meeting.