Pharmacy student-facilitated prescription writing workshop: Evaluating interprofessional peer performance, communication, and collaboration.

INTRODUCTION A peer-led prescription writing workshop was delivered by pairs of fourth-year pharmacy student facilitators (PSFs) to second-year medical (MD) and first-year physician assistant (PA) students. This study assessed PSFs' teaching performance and evaluated participants' perceptions of the workshop's educational value.

Methods

A mixed-methods cross-sectional design was used. MD and PA students evaluated the PSFs and the workshop via a Likert scale survey that was developed from validated instruments. PSFs also completed self-assessments and evaluated their co-facilitator's performance. Descriptive statistics were reported (N, %), stratified by discipline, and comparisons were made using chi-square and Mann-Whitney U tests. A post-workshop focus group with PSFs explored experiences and feedback was analyzed using Braun and Clarke's inductive thematic analysis.

Results

Ten PSFs led the session for 339 students (289 MD, 50 PA). Quantitative results showed high satisfaction, with 85% of all participants strongly agreeing the session was informative and 84% feeling it met expectations. Most participants rated PSFs' performance at the highest level, and PSFs gave similarly high ratings to themselves and co-facilitators. More PA students (73%) expressed interest in further training compared to MDs (44%, p = 0.0001). Qualitative analysis revealed that PSFs experienced challenges engaging students during the role-play activity. Effective teaching strategies included preparation, collaboration to address knowledge gaps, and using the teach-back method. PSFs found the experience rewarding, valued affirming feedback, and expressed interest in future peer-facilitated teaching.

Conclusion

A peer-led prescription writing workshop successfully met learners' expectations and was a valuable experience for both student facilitators and participants.