A Health Education Program for Underserved Community Youth Led by Health Professions Students

Abstract

Objectives. To develop and implement a health fair and educational sessions for elementary school children led by health professions students. Design. The structure and process were developed with elementary school administration to determine the health topics to be covered. Students and faculty members created a ''hands-on,'' youth-oriented health fair and interactive health educational sessions. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected on learning outcomes from the underserved child population and health professions students. Assessment. The health fair and educational sessions increased awareness of underserved youth in the areas of critical health behaviors, purposeful education on health issues facing their community, and exposure to careers in various health professions. The activities provided meaningful learning experiences for the health professions students. Conclusion. The health education program model is an excellent way to teach health education, communication and critical thinking skills, and service learning to health professions students.

Communications Training in Pharmacy Education, 1995-2010

“…Interdisciplinary activities reported in the studies reviewed typically involved pharmacy students coordinating and working in groups with students of other health professions, including medicine, nursing, physiotherapy and occupational therapy, nutrition, podiatry, psychiatry, dentistry, and medical imaging and technology. 13,14,23,27,71 However, 2 studies separated the more clinical elements from the interdisciplinary experience, and thus involved students from communication studies and media courses, 28 as well as from critical thinking and writing. 29 In this case, the interdisciplinary format was used so students could gain experience dealing with other communication styles and with students outside the pharmacy program, without being specific to pharmacy practice.…”

“…This category was separated from interpersonal communication skills because the learning activity emphasized giving rather than sharing information, and did not require any participation of the second party (even if feedback could be given or questions answered). Within these studies, the presentation of a patient case was a common activity, 13,23,42 as was presentation of research. 32,33 The subcategory of interpersonal communication skills (interaction with 1 or a few others, eg, counseling) was further divided into patient, interprofessional, and general.…”

“…These included SOAP (subjective, objective, assessment, plan) notes, 16,52 patient care plans 20,71 and written patient medical histories. 30 One study included activities involving writing patient information handout/ pamphlets, 23 1 study involved writing e-mail advice to a virtual patient, 24 and 1 study used a "patient pathography" (medical history from the patient perspective) format. 12 Reflective writing incorporated journaling and self-reflective exercises.…”

“…Activities encompassed oral examination in a therapeutics course, 55 a microteaching exercise, 25 writing and acting out a script, 39 health promotion activities directed to elementary students, 23 and a servicelearning course. 54 …”

“…There seemed to be subjective and objective American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education 2013; 77 (2) Article 36. assessments carried out in a variety of learning activities (eg, 6 of the simulated patient articles had subjective assessments 13,14,18,20,21,25 and 7 had both subjective and objective assessments 11,[15][16][17]19,23,24 ). Only 2 studies did not report any type of assessment.…”