Interprofessional Education

First-year pharmacy and medical school students hit the road for rural community visits.

Fifty-five new first-year students from the College of Pharmacy, Duluth and 58 first-year students from the University of Minnesota Medical School -- took part in the first phase of a unique interprofessional activity that introduced them to what it’s like to be a pharmacist and family physician working in a small community.  A highlight of the experience took place on Thursday, August 30, when the students loaded onto buses to visit hospitals, businesses and community groups in six rural communities in Northern Minnesota:  Aitkin, Cloquet, Grand Rapids, Hibbing, Moose Lake and Two Harbors. 

Called "Early Pharmacy Practice Experience", and “Introduction to Rural Family Medicine,” the courses are designed to expose new medical and pharmacy students to rural communities and to the leaders most knowledgeable about rural health care and community issues.  This experience becomes increasingly important as studies show that shortages are projected in almost every rural community during the next 20 years.  

We are very grateful to all of the physicians, pharmacists, business and community leaders who spent time with our students. An experience like this inspires these students to become rural family physicians and pharmacists, and we all know that it's crucial to do so because our rural areas face shortages in healthcare professionals," commented Ruth Westra, D.O., Chair of the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, Duluth campus. “Introducing them to rural community leaders is a concrete, effective way to do that,” she added. 

“Serious shortages in physicians and pharmacists already exist in rural Minnesota, and this cooperative program will help us educate the next generation of caregivers, giving them a first-hand look at how health care providers are providing services in smaller communities, and showing our future doctors and pharmacists how to work together for the benefit of the patients”, said Randall D. Seifert, Pharm.D., senior associate dean and professor, Department of Pharmacy Practice and Pharmaceutical Sciences. 

Gary Davis, senior associate dean of the University of Minnesota Medical School – Duluth Campus, added:   “Innovative team care and partnerships among doctors, pharmacists and other health care professionals will be critical to serving patients well.  We created this program and then encouraged the pharmacy students to join our medical students in order to start building those relationships today.”

The College of Pharmacy, which supplies more than 90 percent of Minnesota’s pharmacists, graduates 160 Pharm.D. students every year.  One-third of those graduates are from the Duluth program.   According to the College of Pharmacy, there were 997 community pharmacies in the state which would ideally like to hire 201 full-time and 423 part-time pharmacists within the year. The estimate is based on an analysis of 2004 survey results conducted by the College Pharmacist Workforce Research Group combined with State Board of Pharmacy records.