A Novel Education and Training Program to Enhance Student Advocacy

Abstract

Objective. To develop and implement a unique student advocacy program to train student pharmacists to be effective advocates for the profession of pharmacy and the patients it serves. Design. The Academy is a 2-day program hosted annually in Washington, DC, that combines didactic presentations on the legislative process, communication with policymakers, current legislation, and active-learning exercises such as mock congressional visits. The Academy culminates with visits to Capitol Hill where students meet with legislators and their staff to discuss pending legislation. Assessment. Nearly 350 students from 43 schools and colleges of pharmacy completed the program in its 4 years. Students are assessed following the active-learning exercises and meetings with legislators. Conclusion. Advocacy has been listed as a competency that requires more attention in pharmacy education. The Academy provides a model that schools may replicate to enhance their advocacy offerings.

Assessing Dental Students' Knowledge, Attitudes, and Beliefs About Medicaid and Health Care Reform: A Mixed‐Methods Study

“…Various professional schools and organizations have used legislative visits to formalize advocacy training. [31][32][33][34] Before these experiences, students often learn about the legislative process and the advocacy issues, so they can apply their new knowledge and skills. Learning to create a fact sheet about this information challenges students to distill this information into something they can efectively communicate to another individual.…”

Impact of a Simulated Legislative Visit on Student Pharmacists’ Political Skill Inventory Scores

“…1 Despite this emphasis, the majority of advocacy experiences described in pharmacy education literature are co-curricular or elective didactic coursework and are often facilitated by student organizations of state or national pharmacy organizations. [2][3][4][5][6][7] While these are valuable experiences for student pharmacists, there are inherent issues with these delivery models such as capacity limitations, inaccessibility that may occur due to financial costs and potential need for excused absences from other curricular expectations.…”

“…While simulated or mock legislative visits have been used previously to create real-life assessments to prepare student pharmacists to use advocacy skills, these have not been assessed using validated tools or assessments. 5,14 The objectives of the study were to assess the impact of a simulated legislative visit on PSI scores among student pharmacists, and assess student pharmacist perceptions of their role as an advocate. The authors…”