Undergraduate pharmacy placements in the primary care clinical environment: An exploration of students' experiences of a pilot placement

OBJECTIVES: To explore the experiences of undergraduate pharmacy students, undertaking a pilot placement in a primary healthcare setting. METHODS: A longitudinal placement for undergraduate pharmacy students in primary healthcare was designed in collaboration with practice management staff, doctors, nursing staff, pharmacists and academics. The placement was designed to facilitate the application of students' clinical skills and provide them with an opportunity to collect evidence of their professional development. A primary healthcare centre was identified to host the pilot longitudinal placement and pharmacy students in their third year of undergraduate study were recruited to take part. Following completion of the longitudinal placement a focus group was conducted with the students who completed the pilot to determine their experiences. KEY FINDINGS: Students reported that the longitudinal placement allowed them to become integrated into the primary healthcare team, apply knowledge they had gained during their academic studies and develop their clinical and decision-making skills. Students also valued the authentic interactions they had during the placement with other members of the multidisciplinary team and the opportunity to develop their professional identity. CONCLUSIONS: The evaluation of this pilot suggest that placements in primary healthcare could support pharmacy students to develop their physical assessment skills, clinical decision making and apply the knowledge they have gained at university in a live clinical environment.