A Mapping Review of Teamwork Training and Assessment in Pharmacy Education

Abstract

Objective. To explore how teamwork is taught (i.e. skills and format), measured, and assessed within pharmacy education.

Findings. Of the 114 references retrieved, 18 studies met the inclusion criteria for review and data abstraction. The included studies encompassed 17 schools or colleges of pharmacy. Ten studies (56%) described how teamwork training was integrated into courses while other studies included workshops, clinical rotations, modules, interprofessional simulations, long-term projects, and retreats. Learning activities involving patient cases were the most common teaching methods described [n=12 (67%)]. For the teamwork principles taught, all articles included leadership training or evaluating leadership skills in their program. To assess teamwork, 17 (94%) of the programs used self-reported measures of skills/behaviors, attitudes, and/or knowledge. No standardization existed between the skills/behaviors, attitudes, and knowledge attributes assessed nor the method in which these attributes were assessed. Fourteen studies (78%) demonstrated improvements in attitude-related outcomes, 13 (72%) studies demonstrated improvements in skills-related outcomes, and six studies (33%) described improvements in knowledge related outcomes.

Summary. Teamwork is regarded as an integral component of being an effective health care professional. While teamwork is common in pharmacy curricula, there are few studies describing strategies for teaching pharmacy students effective teamwork strategies. The articles reviewed revealed a wide range of approaches to teaching, measuring, and assessing teamwork skills within pharmacy education. This review highlights an opportunity to further explore and identify the teamwork skills that are requisite for success in pharmacy practice, which could then be supported by standardized teamwork training programs and assessments.