Cultivating a Vibrant and Thriving Elective Curriculum in Pharmacy Schools

Abstract

Elective courses are required in Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) curricula in the United States, but they may receive less attention than required courses in the core curriculum. Elective courses can serve as a platform for innovation in, experimentation with, and implementation of high-impact educational practices. However, these benefits may not always be realized or maximized. We advocate for an "elective curriculum" that is strategically designed and intentionally planned and managed. Students, faculty members, and administrators all play important roles in creating this curriculum. To ensure the curriculum is vibrant and thriving, attention is needed to: alignment with institutional missions, meeting the postgraduation needs of students and employers, enhancing faculty development and faculty experience, strengthening partnerships within the university and/or external entities, and moving the profession forward.

Impact of Nursing Clinical Elective Courses on New Graduate Nurses' Clinical Practice

“…4,5,12,[19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32] Two other studies did not evaluate student outcomes. 3,6 Only 3 studies evaluated how many students actually accepted positions in the specialty taught in the clinical elective on graduation. 2,18,32 Schmidt and Brown 2 sent an electronic survey 4 to 9 years post-graduation to 50 nursing graduates who completed a perioperative elective.…”

“…Another 17 studies evaluated student-related outcomes immediately following the course, such as knowledge, confidence, attitude, and perceptions related to the content 4,5,12,19-32. Two other studies did not evaluate student outcomes 3,6…”

“…To introduce students to specialty areas, many health care profession schools offer clinical electives, including oncology, perioperative, palliative care, and geriatrics, among others. [2][3][4][5] Berlie and colleagues 6 provide direction for health care professional schools in how to appropriately align elective courses with the school's institutional mission. Offering clinical electives helps meet the postgraduate needs of students and employers.…”

Pharmacy undergraduate programs: Development of an adaptive curriculum for student success

“…In addition to traditional pharmacy coursework, the ACPE suggests that educational programs should “impart[s] to the graduate the knowledge, skills, abilities, behaviors, and attitudes necessary to solve problems” and acknowledges that training should afford graduates with the ability to collaborate with a broad range of people [ 22 ]. Pharmacy schools do have the ability to be creative and adapt electives and co-curriculars to the changing face of pharmacy to make graduates successful in their future careers [ 23 ]. Some academic institutions are looking toward undergraduate programs that facilitate life-long learning aspirations alongside practical and theoretical pharmacy skills to enrich their candidate pools [ 10 , 24 ].…”

Use of Concept Mapping to Identify Expectations of Pharmacy Students Selecting Elective Courses

“…As might be expected, based on this broad guideline US pharmacy schools collectively offer a diverse range of didactic elective courses, e.g., complementary medicine, health informatics, global health, research, and oncology [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ]. Typically, course topic, content, and delivery method for each didactic elective course is at the discretion of the faculty member(s) teaching the course and is based on their (or their institution’s) perceived needs and goals of the students, and/or personal preference and interests [ 8 ].…”