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Background Interprofessional education (IPE), defined as when students from two or more professions learn about, from, and with each other, has been widely espoused as a way to promote collaborative and high-quality patient care. IPE initiatives are now commonplace in undergraduate medical education, but it is unclear whether the principles of IPE are reinforced during clinical rotations. Specifically, little is known about whether, when, and how interprofessional providers (IPPs), including nurses (RN), pharmacists (PharmD), and respiratory therapists (RT), participate in teaching medical students. This study aimed to elucidate the perspective of medical students about how IPPs impacted their education during clinical rotations in the intensive care unit (ICU). Methods Surveys were distributed to medical students who rotated in the medical ICUs at three academic medical centers over a 12-month period. Survey questions focused on three major domains: IPP roles during daily rounds, interprofessional teaching (IPT) outside of rounds, and students’ attitudes about IPT. Survey data were analyzed with descriptive and comparative statistics. Free text comments were analyzed using qualitative thematic analysis. Results Twenty five out of 53 medical students completed the survey (47%). Students reported that IPPs were commonly present on ICU rounds. Students’ reports of IPP teaching varied across professions. On a 5-point Likert scale, pharmacists were perceived to teach most frequently (mean 3.58, SD 0.81), compared to RTs (mean 2.88, SD 1.01) and nurses (mean 2.17, SD 0.80) (one-way ANOVA, F(2, 69) = [14.89], p  < 0.005). On a 7-point Likert scale, IPPs were described as teaching a moderate amount outside of rounds [RN (mean 3.46, SD 1.71), PharmD (mean 4.04, SD 1.49), RT (mean 4.00, SD 1.35)], with the majority of RN and RT teaching occurring at the bedside. Students reported generally positive attitudes about IPT, with most endorsing confidence in IPP knowledge base (92%) and teaching abilities (88%); 67% would have a positive reaction if attending physicians invited more IPT on rounds. Conclusions Medical students report variable levels of teaching from IPPs on ICU rounds, but similar levels of teaching outside of rounds. Students endorsed positive attitudes toward the idea of enhancing interprofessional teaching in the ICU.

A Man with Cough, Dyspnea, and Hypoxemia A 75-year-old man was admitted to the hospital because of dyspnea and hypoxemia. CT of the chest showed a cavitary lesion in the right upper lobe and masses in both lower lobes. A diagnosis was made.

To address this, Newton and colleagues conducted a retrospective observational cohort study of patients with interstitial pneumonia with autoimmune features (IPAF), connective tissue disease–associated ILD (CTD-ILD), and IPF to determine associations between specific genomic markers and clinical outcomes (1). No other associations between telomere-related gene variants and MUC5B were identified; however, three additional rare variants (PARN [poly(A)-specific ribonuclease], RTEL1 [regulator of telomere elongation helicase 1], and TERC [telomerase RNA component]) were more prevalent in patients with IPF than in control subjects, consistent with prior study findings (10). Among patients with IPF enrolled in the ASCEND (Efficacy and Safety of Pirfenidone in Patients With Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis) (13) and CAPACITY (Safety and Efficacy of Pirfenidone in Patients With Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis) (14) clinical trials of pirfenidone, short telomere length was associated with more rapid disease progression; however, pirfenidone treatment slowed FVC decline in patients with both short and long telomeres. Juge and colleagues (8) tested the association of the MUC5B promoter variant, a known risk factor for the development of IPF (2), in patients with RA (both with and without ILD on high-resolution computed tomographic imaging of the chest) and in unaffected control subjects.