A Service-Learning Course for First-Year Pharmacy Students

Objectives. To determine factors that influenced students' choice of pharmacy as a major and assess relationships between these factors and anticipatory socialization. Methods. Two hundred fifteen freshman and sophomore students enrolled in a 0-6 doctor of pharmacy program completed a survey instrument on which they rated 6 motivational factors in their decision to major in pharmacy and answered questions related to anticipatory socialization. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to answer the research questions posed. Results. Female students ranked desire to help others as a stronger motivating factor in their decision to pursue a career in pharmacy than did male students. Caucasian students rated providing more career opportunities and providing an entry-level doctorate as stronger motivating factors for pursuing pharmacy than did Asian students. Asian students had lower levels of anticipatory socialization than other students. Students with higher levels of motivation had higher levels of anticipatory socialization. Conclusion. Results of this study provide further insight into effective recruiting strategies and recommendations for improved pharmacy education.

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors Influencing Pharmacy Students' Choice of Major and Its Relationship to Anticipatory Socialization

Keshishian

2010

“…Activities encompassed oral examination in a therapeutics course, 55 a microteaching exercise, 25 writing and acting out a script, 39 health promotion activities directed to elementary students, 23 and a servicelearning course. 54 …”

Section: Description and Categorization Of Learning Activitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Communications Training in Pharmacy Education, 1995-2010

Wallman

Vaudan

Sporrong

2013

102

The role of the pharmacist as a "communicator" of information and advice between patients, other healthcare practitioners, and the community is recognized as a vital component of the responsibilities of a practicing pharmacist. Pharmacy education is changing to reflect this, although the difficulty is in designing a curriculum that is capable of equipping students with the necessary knowledge and skills, using activities that are effective in promoting communication competency. The objective of this review was to identify published, peer-reviewed articles concerning communication training in pharmacy education programs, and describe which communication skills the structured learning activities aimed to improve and how these learning activities were assessed. A systematic literature search was conducted and the articles found were analyzed and divided into categories based on specific communication skills taught and type of learning activity used. Oral interpersonal communication skills targeted at patients were the most common skill-type described, followed by clinical writing skills. Common teaching methods included simulated and standardized patient interactions and pharmacy practice experience courses. Most educational interventions were assessed by subjective measures. Many interventions were described as fragments, in isolation of other learning activities that took place in a course, which impedes complete analysis of study results. To succeed in communication training, integration between different learning activities and progression within pharmacy educations are important.

“…A detailed description of the course was provided previously. 7 The design of the study was reviewed and approved by expedited review by the college's Institutional Review Board.…”

Section: Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…12 A follow-up article describes a subsequent offering of the course, in which open-ended questions were posed to the students to determine what they could articulate regarding what they had learned about a variety of topics addressed in the course. 7 In this article, we compared the learning outcomes of students engaged in service learning with those of a control group. The current study assessed pharmacyrelated knowledge of first-year students in 2 schools of pharmacy with similar curricula, 1 that included a required course involving service learning and 1 that did not.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] Many of these studies investigated learning outcomes using assessment methods such as pre-and post-course testing or post-course open-ended questions and responses. These studies, however, did not address whether the service-learning courses led to learning outcomes different from those that can be achieved by students taking similar courses that do not involve service learning.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Impact of a Service-Learning Course on First-Year Pharmacy Students' Learning Outcomes

Kearney

2013

Self Cite

Objectives. To assess the differences in learning outcomes of first-year (P1) pharmacy students enrolled in a course based on service learning with those of a comparable group of students not enrolled in a course involving service learning. Design. Students on 2 campuses of a school of pharmacy completed a required P1 course involving service learning. A control group of students at a different school completed typical P1 courses, none of which involved service learning. Assessment. A questionnaire was administered to P1 students in the study group at the conclusion of the service-learning course, and a similar questionnaire was administered to P1 students in the control group in the spring of their P1 year. Survey questions inquired about what the students had learned generally and in the areas identified as common to the 2 groups of respondents. Differences in the learning outcomes of the students were identified, most notably in the areas of professional communication, cultural competence, the elderly, and awareness of service-providing agencies in the community. Conclusion. This study demonstrated that service-learning positively impacts pharmacy students' learning outcomes.