Integrated Project-Based Teaching of Multiple Pharmacy Disciplines in a U.S.-based Summer Program for International Students

AbstractObjective Understanding the drug development lifecycle requires a combination of knowledge from clinical, scientific, and regulatory perspectives. Therefore, pharmacy graduates should possess the ability to integrate information and work collaboratively across these three focus areas. This study describes a team-based project that integrates material from these areas in the progression of a drug from discovery to regulatory approval and clinical use. Methods The project was implemented in a United States (U.S.)-based International Student Summer Program (ISSP) for attendees from multiple countries. Students were assigned to a focus area and worked in interdisciplinary teams to examine a drug formulation that had reached the U.S. market in the previous year. The program learning objectives focused on content, teamwork, and integration of material, and the project was designed to support these outcomes. Students were surveyed pre- and post-program in annual ISSPs from 2021-2024. ISSP 2021 was held online, whereas ISSP 2022-2024 were on-campus. There were 427 attendees in these programs. Results Student perspectives across all four programs changed from a focus on content to appreciating the importance of teamwork. Students perceived that integration of content was most effective for clinical and science focus areas, followed by clinical and regulatory, and science and regulatory. These outcomes were consistent across online and on-campus programs. Conclusion Our results indicate that the cross-functional project served as a vehicle to promote teamwork skills, while supporting learning and integration of content. This approach has the potential to form the basis of curricular design in a broader pharmacy context.