Focus groups were digitally recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed by framework analysis.2 In total, 10 male and 24 female students participated. Students in all focus groups talked about attempting to ‘treat them normally’ but also that they ‘couldn’t help’ treating people who appeared to have mental health problems differently to people who did not. This was mainly through wariness (increased social distance) and seemed to be because of concern for personal safety, in case people were to ‘just snap or go crazy’. Students agreed that media depictions of mental illness and mental illness among people they knew considerably impacted on their perceptions.

There were more similarities than differences between fourth buy LY2109761 years’ current views, their reported views as first years and current first years’ views. However, fourth year students reported increased understanding about mental illnesses, greater exposure to people with mental illness and better ability to interact with people with mental health problems. They appeared to have greater insight into their wariness being problematic when interacting with patients; their

discomfort check details about this seemed evident in comments about wariness being just a ‘small part of’ them that had thought it, for example. They also drew on notions of perceived illness severity when justifying treating people differently. These

findings broadly support those of previous studies,1 but suggest that students’ attitudes towards people with mental health problems may change as they progress through the course, even if only to heighten their sense of professional discomfort about knowingly treating people differently. While this does not necessarily apply to pharmacy students’ views elsewhere, it does suggest that further attitude change should be a focus for MPharm course development. 1. Bell J, Johns R, Chen T. Pharmacy students’ and graduates’ attitudes towards people with schizophrenia and severe depression. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education 2006; 70: 77. 2. Pope C, Ziebland S, Mays N. Qualitative research in healthcare: analysing qualitative data. British unless Medical Journal 2000; 320: 114–116. M. Smitha, S. Williamsb, C. Cannb, E. Kidda, R. Dewdneya, A. Milsomb, P. Kinnersleyb aCardiff School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cardiff, UK, bClinical Skills and Simulation Centre, Cardiff School of Medicine, Cardiff, UK Interprofessional education can counter inflexibility and tribalism, preparing people to work together to provide quality patient care. Over a 4-day period, all 300 Year 1 medical students and 120 Year 4 Pharmacy students at Cardiff University had combined training in Basic Life Support and the use of Automated Defibrillators.