Objective. To determine pharmacy students' impressions of their faculty's interactions with diverse student and patient populations. Methods. Three student focus groups were convened. Eighty-four page transcripts were coded, and emergent themes were identified by qualitative analysis. Results. Students defined diversity as multidimensional beyond traditional categories. Emergent themes were faculty awareness or lack of awareness of cultural diversity, disparate cultural perspectives and preferences within student groups, teaching/learning approaches to prepare students to be more culturally competent, and student group dynamics. First-and second-year students emphasized student-to-student interactions, while third-and fourth-year students emphasized a lack of preparation for the realities of contemporary practice based on instructional methods. Conclusion. Students perceived the majority of their pharmacy faculty to be culturally sensitive and aware, but microaggression and discrimination from faculty and student peers were experienced. Study implications can potentially improve curricular offerings, cultural awareness of faculty and students, and care to diverse patient populations.
Objective. To determine pharmacy students' perceptions regarding cultural competence training, cross-cultural experiences during advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs), and perceived comfort levels with various cultural encounters. Methods. Fourth-year pharmacy (P4) students were asked to complete a questionnaire at the end of their fourth APPE. Results. Fifty-two of 124 respondents (31.9%) reported having 1 or more cultural competence events during their APPEs, the most common of which was caring for a patient with limited English proficiency. Conclusion. Students reported high levels of comfort with specific types of cultural encounters (disabilities, sexuality, financial barriers, mental health), but reported to be less comfortable in other situations.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.