Student Pharmacists’ Perspectives on Service-Learning Experiences in Free Clinics

Abstract

Objective. To explore student pharmacists' perspectives on the value of pharmacy-related servicelearning experiences focused on caring for underserved populations. Methods. Student pharmacists were required to complete a three-hour volunteer experience at a free clinic in western Pennsylvania. Reflective essays from all second-and third-year student pharmacists who participated in the required service-learning experience were deidentified. Essays were thematically analyzed to formulate a list of codes that represent dominant conceptual categories. Two independent coders read and coded all essays submitted from September 2015 to May 2017 using qualitative data analysis. Codes were evaluated for intercoder variability and discrepancies were mediated through discussion. Results. Four hundred twenty-two students submitted reflective essays: 222 essays were submitted by second-year students and 200 by third-year students. The prevailing themes reflected the professional obligation students felt to provide care to the underserved, empathy for underserved patients, perspectives on equitable health resource distribution, the value of service-learning experiences, growth in interprofessional awareness, and self-reported empowerment from the experience. Themes were consistent in the reflective essays of both second-year and third-year students. Third-year students' essays reflected a greater sense of self-assurance and confidence in their role at the free clinics. Students made connections between their didactic learning and experiential education. Conclusion. Student pharmacists valued their experiences working in underserved settings. Free clinics provide opportunities for student pharmacists to develop hands-on training as well as gain a broader perspective on underserved populations, health resource distribution, and the role of pharmacists.

Student pharmacists' perspectives on health equity following a co‐curricular activity

“…First, it was limited to students from one institution who participated in one activity. While our themes are consistent with other research, including reflections following service‐learning in a free clinic, 12 other activities may evoke different perceptions. Second, the themes generated are based solely on student self‐reflection, and there was no effort to objectively assess student behaviors which they self‐reported.…”

“…Health profession programs are increasingly charged with addressing social responsibility, and even before ACPE requirements, schools, and colleges had responded through a variety of programmatic efforts, ranging from service‐learning requirements in underserved settings to cultural competency training 7‐14 . The addition of co‐curricular requirements has only elevated expectations and helped to develop consensus on the types of patient and non‐patient care activities that should be included in co‐curriculum 4,16 .…”

“…A variety of approaches how to educate students on health disparities and cultural competence have been reported in the pharmacy literature 7‐14 . However, one approach gaining traction is providing students with direct exposure to health disparities through service‐learning and experiential education 8,10‐12 .…”

Student-Led Clinics in Aotearoa New Zealand: A Scoping Review with Stakeholder Consultation

“…Furthermore, there was inconsistency across disciplines and institutions around in the use of labels, such as: student-assisted, -led, -run, or -facilitated. Additional terms identified in a separate, systematic review of international student-led clinics (submitted) included service-learning (examples [42][43][44][45] ) and student free-clinics (examples [46][47][48][49][50][51][52] ), the apparent distinction for these being the model of operation making no charge on service users, whereas as some, but not all, student clinics charge nominal fees to cover costs. Across all variations, the initiatives described appeared to fulfil the same purpose -addressing a community health need and generating authentic learning experiences for the student.…”

Improvement of Adaptive Learning Service Recommendation Algorithm Based on Big Data

“…Study data is the statistics of the students' knowledge system related to learning resources and learning the information such as history, study history record store the history learners learning process and related resources, students to learn the history of learning resources such as data, using big data to construct user sets, more efficient personalized learning resources recommended for students planning to provide large data statistical analysis [17,18].…”