title: Psychometrics of the scale of attitudes toward physician-pharmacist collaboration: a study with medical students.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Despite the emphasis placed on interdisciplinary education and interprofessional collaboration between physicians and pharmacologists, no psychometrically sound instrument is available to measure attitudes toward collaborative relationships.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study was designed to examine psychometrics of an instrument for measuring attitudes toward physician-pharmacist collaborative relationships for administration to students in medical and pharmacy schools and to physicians and pharmacists.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Scale of Attitudes Toward Physician-Pharmacist Collaboration was completed by 210 students at Jefferson Medical College. Factor analysis and correlational methods were used to examine psychometrics of the instrument.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Consistent with the conceptual framework of interprofessional collaboration, three underlying constructs, namely "responsibility and accountability;" "shared authority;" and "interdisciplinary education" emerged from the factor analysis of the instrument providing support for its construct validity. The reliability coefficient alpha for the instrument was 0.90. The instrument's criterion-related validity coefficient with scores of a validated instrument (Jefferson Scale of Attitudes Toward Physician-Nurse Collaboration) was 0.70.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Findings provide support for the validity and reliability of the instrument for medical students. The instrument has the potential to be used for the evaluation of interdisciplinary education in medical and pharmacy schools, and for the evaluation of patient outcomes resulting from collaborative physician-pharmacist relationships.
authors.affiliation: Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA. mohammadreza.hojat@jefferson.edu
authors.forename: Mohammadreza
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hojat
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Spandorfer
authors.forename: Gerald A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Isenberg
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Vergare
authors.forename: Reza
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fassihi
authors.forename: Joseph S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Gonnella
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D033183:Interdisciplinary Communication; D008297:Male; D010414:Pennsylvania; D010595:Pharmacists; D010820:Physicians; D011594:Psychometrics; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires