The Interprofessional Training Ward in Munich (MIPA)
The Interprofessional Training Ward in Munich (MIPA) – A promising environment to foster clinical pharmacists’ competencies
From 2020 - 2023, the foundation Patient & Clinical Pharmacy
supported an interprofessional training project to a large extent.
The aim of the project is to bring together students from different healthcare
professions (prospective doctors, nurses, pharmacists) during their training,
to promote the development of core skills (including action and team skills,
problem-solving skills) and thus reduce errors and increase patient safety.
In the project, learners from the healthcare professions independently provide
healthcare to patients in a real-life setting in an interprofessional team under the
supervision and support of practice instructors.
Doctoral thesis on the topic: The Interprofessional Training Ward in Munich (MIPA) – A promising environment to foster clinical pharmacists’ competencies
Research has shown that interprofessional collaboration strengthens healthcare systems and leads to better patient outcomes. The first experience in interprofessional collaboration should be gained during training in order to lay the foundation for later successful collaboration between the various health care professions, such as physicians, pharmacists and nurses. One possibility is to establish interprofessional training wards in the clinics.
At the LMU Hospital, this type of ward was launched at the end of 2020, the MIPA - Interprofessional Training Ward in Munich. On MIPA, for a period of 5 weeks, two medical students, one pre-registration pharmacist and four nursing trainees are given the responsibility of providing care for six patients. The MIPA participants work in two teams, each looking after three patients. Together they discuss which diagnostics and treatments are necessary, who can be discharged and who is responsible for which tasks. The MIPA participants should gain insights into the tasks and responsibilities of their own and other professions and practise teamwork. Profession-specific tutors from the medical, pharmaceutical and nursing fields accompany their work and can intervene in case of any mistakes. For the first time in Germany, pre-registration pharmacists are integrated into an interprofessional training ward.
The MIPA is designed to promote communication skills, the recognition of patients' needs, and the understanding and strengthening of the participants' individual professional roles. The aim of the project is to assess the learning progress in the profession-specific as well as interprofessional competencies of pharmacy students on MIPAs.