Interprofessional Primary Care Course Curriculum and Evaluation.

Background And Objectives: Primary care (PC) requires interprofessional teamwork and training. Although clinical training in PC settings is well developed in some professions, classroom teaching on the principles and practice of PC provides additional opportunities for interprofessional education.

Methods: We offered an elective one-credit classroom course on PC over 3 years, 2013 through 2015, enrolling students from dentistry, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, physician assistant, public health, social work, and other fields. Course activities included classroom presentations, small group discussions, team exercises, written reflections, online discussion, and observation visits to PC practices. We conducted an anonymous postcourse evaluation using 5-point Likert-like scales and brief student comments.

Results: Eighty-four students completed the course over 3 years and 86% (72) completed the evaluation. Students rated the course high value or very high value, particularly for interprofessional student mix (99%, 71) and practice visit (99%, 70/71). Most students (98% , 65/66), felt the course should be offered again, and 82% (54/66) thought it should be expanded. Most students (93%, 65/70), recommended the course for others, and 41.1% (29/70) felt it should be required for students in their field or for all health professions students. After completing the course, 83.3% (60/72) of students planned careers in PC settings, and 55.6% (40/72) reported they changed plans to such careers.

Conclusions: The PC course served students across health professions, earned high ratings, and influenced PC career plans. Most students felt the course should be recommended or required for all health professions students.