PJ-Akademie—Klinikum Braunschweig, Apothekerkammer and TU Braunschweig launch pilot project
Joint press release of the Apothekerkammer Niedersachsen, Technische Universität Braunschweig and the Städtisches Klinikum Braunschweig
It is currently a unique project in Germany: In an innovative and forward-looking cooperation, the Städtisches Klinikum Braunschweig (skbs), the Apothekerkammer Niedersachsen and Technische Universität (TU) Braunschweig have initiated a pilot project that supplements the study contents of pharmacy and medicine with an important interprofessional component. The aim of the so-called “PJ-Akademie” is to significantly improve patient care through better cooperation between the medical professions. Through the newly created PJ-Akademie, pharmacists and medical students in their practical year (PJ: Praktisches Jahr) have the opportunity to learn directly at the patient’s bedside, thus linking theoretical and practical knowledge. As a maximum care hospital, the skbs offers the best conditions and a high medical level for this.
Dr Thomas Bartkiewicz, Medical Director of the skbs, explains: “In the PJ-Akademie, we strengthen better interdisciplinary cooperation between trainee doctors and pharmacists at an early stage, as well as the professional self-evidence of the exchange. An important goal is to avoid medication errors and complications—which are currently caused by too many and incorrectly combined medications—in the future”. The joint and above all early interdisciplinary training is “new and unique”, says Dr Bartkiewicz.
Cathrin Burs, President of the Apothekerkammer Niedersachsen, is convinced of the added value of the PJ-Akademie for the future pharmacists: “If you want to learn something and make a difference later on, you need the chance to be allowed to develop your personal and professional potential with others during your training. Completely free of old patterns, our professionals can lay a foundation for interprofessional work at eye level at the PJ-Akademie and work together for good health care for people.” A total of five modules per year are planned, dedicated to the topics of diabetes, stroke, cardiac and renal insufficiency and cancer.
Prof. Dr Ingo Rustenbeck from the Institute of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Clinical Pharmacy at Technische Universität Braunschweig sees the project as an excellent supplement to the degree programme: “The core of the PJ-Akademie is the professional exchange and the joint learning experience, which sharpens mutual understanding and thus ultimately contributes to improving the care of sick people. We are pleased about all those who take up this additional offer with curiosity and enthusiasm.”
During the second module yesterday, Wednesday, the mood among the participants was very positive. The participants discussed fictitious medication plans and their risks with a lot of commitment and interest. The focus was on the treatment of dialysis patients. Lea Zunk, a medical student in the PJ, said: “The added value of the PJ-Akademie is a really close link between two professional groups. We are young and belong to the next generation in patient care. In the PJ-Akademie, we can network at a very early stage and get valuable information for our everyday professional life.” Pharmacist Joana Seyda also drew an initial interim conclusion: “In the PJ-Akademie we get a completely different view of the patients that we don’t have otherwise.” She also sees the early interprofessional cooperation as forward-looking: “I think it’s extremely good that we can explain to each other what our profession is like—it’s a great opportunity for an exchange at eye level.
Background
Pharmacotherapy is a high-risk process – even today. It is estimated that 7 out of 100 outpatients suffer avoidable side effects. About 5 percent of all hospital admissions are due to side effects, about a quarter of which are preventable. Preventable side effects due to medication errors occur, among other things, due to wrong dosage, medication interaction, wrong indication, overlooked allergies, mix-ups or communication errors. These are precisely the points on which the PJ-Akademie focuses. The goals are to promote communication between the professional groups, increase the quality of pharmacotherapy and promote patient satisfaction.