Addressing Cultural Competency in Pharmacy Education through International Service Learning and Community Engagement

Abstract

This paper describes the design, implementation and evaluation of a course in international service learning and community engagement for pharmacy undergraduate students. The course offered students opportunities to cultivate cultural competency in an international setting foreign to their own-Sub-Saharan Africa. The experience consisted of predeparture preparation seminars followed by subsequent community immersion to experience, explore and confront personal attitudes and perceptions. A key feature of this course was its emphasis on a continuing cycle of learning, community engagement and reflection. Three students participated, a near-maximum cohort. Their daily self-reflections were qualitatively analyzed to document the impact of their cultural learning and experiences and revealed meaningful learning in the domains of self-assessment and awareness of their personal and professional culture, exposure to a participatory health delivery model involving the patient, the community and a multidisciplinary team and opportunities to engage in patient care in a different cultural setting. This proof-of-concept course provided students with OPEN ACCESSPharmacy 2013, 1 17 experiences that were life-changing on both personal and professional levels and confirmed the viability and relevance of international service learning for the pharmacy field within its university-wide mandate.

Preparing Today’s Nurses: Social Determinants of Health and Nursing Education

“…In a limited number of cases, only selected students can attend the program. The selection procedure often comprises a written application exploring students' interests, previous experiences, and professional goals, sometimes combined with an interview (e.g., Bakshi et al, 2015;Kassam et al, 2013;Meili et al, 2011).…”

“…Program lengths range from approximately 1 week (e.g., Art et al, 2008), to over one semester (e.g., Bell and Buelow, 2014) to several years (e.g., Meurer et al, 2011). Furthermore, some of the programs are very intense (e.g., full-time presence in a community during an immersion experience abroad [Kassam et al, 2013;Meili et al, 2011]), while some are much less so (e.g., 1 hour per week [Kelly, 2013]). However, because of a lack of information, it is often difficult to get an encompassing idea of a program's extent.…”

Global service learning: A unique educational pathway for community engagement and student scholarship development

“…International service learning exposes students to new cultures which increases their understanding of cultural difference. This knowledge and skills can enhance providers' competence in engaging with patients 12 . In health care, many service learning projects engage students with a variety of health care professionals, improving interprofessional communication and trust 13 …”

Intentionality in facilitating shifts towards equity : an intrinsic case study of instructional leaders supporting implementation of culturally responsive teaching

“…Culture is expressed through "integrated patterns of human behavior that include the language, thoughts, communications, actions, customs, beliefs, values and institutions of racial, ethnic, religious or social groups" (Kassam, Estrada, Huang, Bhander, & Collins, 2013).…”

“…Due to the vast number of variables involved, it is difficult to comprehend the nuances that make up various cultures. Measures that cultivate cultural responsiveness-due to the uniqueness of cultural beliefs, expectations, and perception-improve the instructional styles of educators and thus, benefit all students (Kassam et al, 2013).…”