Breaking Walls and Building Bridges: A Pre-Post Evaluation of an Interprofessional Clinical Case Discussion Among Pharmacy and Nursing Students.

PURPOSE: To assess changes in readiness for interprofessional learning among pharmacy and nursing students following a structured interprofessional clinical case discussion, and to evaluate students' feedback and pharmacy students' performance in the activity.

METHODS

A quasi-experimental pre-post interventional study was conducted at Ajman University, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates (UAE) during November 2025. Final-year pharmacy students and third-year (senior-most available) nursing students participated in a structured IPE seminar using real clinical cases obtained from a secondary care hospital in Sharjah Emirate. Readiness for IPE was assessed before and after the intervention using the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS). Both pharmacy and nursing students feedback, and pharmacy students' performance were also evaluated. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses (Shapiro Wilk test, Kendall's test, and Mann-Whiteny U-Test) were performed, a p-value less than 0.05 been considered statistically significance.

RESULTS

A total of 61 students participated, including 38 pharmacy students and 23 nursing students. Baseline RIPLS scores were high, with a median total score of 81 (IQR 73.5-86.5), increasing slightly post-intervention to 82 (IQR 74-87). Nursing students had significantly higher baseline readiness than pharmacy students (p = 0.013). Total post-RIPLS score showed a slight improvement overall; nonetheless, only the "Up to 21" age group approached statistical significance (p = 0.057). A statistically significant positive correlation was observed between discipline and several RIPLS items from all three domains, such as items 6, 14, 15, 16, and 17 (p = 0.006, 0.008, 0.002, 0.004, and 0.003). Students reported highly positive feedback (Median score 4.92), particularly regarding improvements in clinical understanding, communication, critical thinking, teamwork, and appreciation of interprofessional collaboration.

CONCLUSION

Interprofessional clinical case discussion seminar reinforced students' already high readiness for IPE. These findings support the value of integrating IPE in undergraduate curriculum in the UAE.