Educational potential of using virtual patients for promoting interprofessional learning between medical and pharmacy students: A qualitative study

Interprofessional learning (IPL), involving various professions within healthcare, has been proven to improve the quality of patient care by encouraging collaboration between professionals. Careful consideration of appropriate educational tools and content is required in order to facilitate the effective IPL. This study aimed to explore medical and pharmacy students’ preconceptions of the role of virtual patients (VPs) as a learning tool for IPL within their education. A secondary aim was to elicit feedback to inform the development of new VP cases. Two focus groups (one with medical students and the other with pharmacy students), consisting of six students in each, were recruited. Participant perceptions regarding VP-based IPL were explored. Data were analysed using a thematic approach. Participants thought that there were some potential learning benefits of using VPs as part of their curriculum. Pharmacy students held increased value in VPs due to their limited access to patients during their education. Medical students challenged the role of VPs in their clinical development and concerned that VPs lack the flexibility required by doctors to use their judgement and work with uncertainty. Limited understanding of team members’ roles in patient care and self-reported ignorance of the overlap in curricula appear to be key barriers for students in valuing the knowledge base of each other’s profession and possible benefits of using VPs in joint learning. This study generated a number of key implications which need to be considered when introducing VP-based IPL.