Official Journal of the Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia
PHARMACY PRACTICE
Service learning for pharmacy students: experience of a home-grown Community Engagement Elective unit Tahir M. Khan, Sabrina A. Jacob School of Pharmacy, Monash University Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia
Abstract: Service learning has been shown to benefit both students in the healthcare profession and the communities they serve, by equipping students with skills that enable them to identify and meet the needs of these communities. The current paper addresses the planning and design of an elective community engagement unit in an undergraduate pharmacy program and also highlights some of the students’ experiences with this program as well as the skills gained through this engagement. This community engagement unit was found to be an effective way of implementing the concept of service learning among pharmacy students at Monash University Malaysia. The tasks and assessments incorporated in this unit have not only provided the chance for students to improve their communication skills but have also enabled them to develop empathy and leadership abilities, which are valuable lifelong skills for a pharmacy graduate. Keywords: service learning, community engagement unit, Monash University Malaysia.
BACKGROUND
BENEFITS OF SERVICE LEARNING
In just a decade, the pharmacy curriculum and profession have gone through major changes across the globe. Today’s pharmacists are no longer bound to the traditional drug dispensing roles, but have instead moved on to active participation in direct patient care, specialty clinics, public health and community services. Incorporation of these new roles into the pharmacy curriculum has been a challenge; however, both developed and developing countries have been working towards modifying their current curriculum content to meet the needs of the profession.1,2 In addition to the didactic and theoretical concepts, it is considered essential to provide opportunities for students to interact with the community so as to enable them to understand the needs of the people, while at the same time improving their interaction skills. Given that interaction with the community and effective communication are essential elements of all healthcare professions, most of the pharmacy institutions in developed countries have introduced the concept of ‘service learning’ (SL).3
SL is defined as a teaching and learning strategy that incorporates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities.4 In the health and clinical science professions, SL has been shown to promote ‘social responsibility’ among students, motivating them to communicate and collaborate with other professionals.5 Thus, SL provides the opportunity for students to integrate their classroom knowledge with their social skills to meet the needs of the community.6 In most of the pharmacy programs, the prime focus of the curriculum is on the development of pharmaceutical knowledge and clinical practice skills.7 The addition of SL to pharmacy programs assists students in developing skills that make them more receptive to patient needs and equips them with the knowledge to plan patient-specific interventions that best suit their patients’ needs. Indeed, research has also found that SL further encourages students to gain valuable skills such as communication skills, empathy and professionalism, all of which have much bearing on their future roles as healthcare professionals.6,8,9 Finally, SL also offers an opportunity for universities to form lasting relationships with the people, community organisations and stakeholders; which assists in identifying community needs and planning appropriate academic and scientific interventions to meet them.5
Address for correspondence: Dr. Tahir Mehmood Khan, School of Pharmacy, Monash University Malaysia, Bandar Sunway, Selangor 47500, Malaysia E-mail:
[email protected]
© 2015 Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia.
Journal of Pharmacy Practice and Research (2015) 45, 314–317 doi: 10.1002/jppr.1113
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SERVICE LEARNING IN THE MALAYSIAN EDUCATION CONTEXT Addressing the situation in the Malaysian education setting, community service is considered an essential element of university and high school curriculums.10 According to the Malaysian Education Blueprint, community engagement is ranked as a top priority and highlighted as a short-term goal to be achieved in the ‘wave one’ reforms scheduled from 2013 to 2015. In addition, the Ministry of Education has promised logistical and financial support to all schools, colleges and universities to enable them to achieve these ‘wave one’ objectives.11 Keeping this national education objective in view, certain institutions have added-on SL components as part of another subject, thus providing an opportunity for students to improve their knowledge and skills in interacting with people. In some cases, elective units are offered to enhance students’ community interaction and problem-solving skills. The current paper aims to demonstrate the design and assessment of the Community Engagement Elective unit at the School of Pharmacy at Monash University Malaysia (MM). The structure and assessments described in this paper may be useful for other pharmacy institutions aiming to incorporate community engagement in their pharmacy curriculum. In addition, some of the qualitative feedback information from the students is also shared to describe the impact of community engagement on the leadership and communication skills of students.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ELECTIVE UNIT DESIGN AND ASSESSMENTS: A MALAYSIAN SERVICE LEARNING EXPERIENCE MM is an offshore campus of Monash University Australia, offering the Bachelor of Pharmacy (B.Pharm) program. The mode of delivery, teaching strategies and learning objectives are the same across the two campuses. However, to meet the needs of the Malaysian practice setting, elective units and curriculum contextualisation are added to meet the requirements of the Malaysian Qualification Framework agency and the Pharmacy Board of the Ministry of Health Malaysia. One of the primary examples in this regard is the Community Engagement Elective which is offered only in the Malaysian campus to Year 3 students. This elective has been running since 2011 and approximately 130 students have undertaken this unit since its inception, with an average of 30 students per year. This unit aims to help students develop themselves as professionals and as individuals and to enhance their understanding of the distribution and determinants of © 2015 Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia.
health. It also aspires to facilitate the acquisition of knowledge about the effects of being disadvantaged on health, as well as the development of skills while working in the community. Students are placed once weekly (a whole day) for a period of 7 weeks in non-government organisations (NGOs) such as those catering for the aged and infirm, orphanages, those providing support to single parents, and soup kitchens. These NGOs are usually vetted and approved by the unit coordinators, and at the end of the unit, students are expected to be able to: • understand and analyse the social and economic context of health and illness • explain the interplay of medical, scientific, social, cultural, political, economic and ethical factors in health promotion • identify the barriers to access to health services • explain the understanding of social and public policy and its impact on an individuals’ health • understand and explain the workflow and agenda of community agencies to deliver community services • create a personal list of traits that assists them in improving their communication skills with new people in the community. The number of NGOs involved usually corresponds with the number of students registered for the unit, with four to five students typically placed in each NGO. At the respective NGOs, students are supervised by a Field Educator who briefs the students on the agency goals, works with the students on the design of their personal learning plans, monitors each student’s performance and provides logistical support to assist students in the execution of their personal learning plans. Each group is also assigned an academic advisor (AA), who is from MM. The role of the AAs is to run a minimum of four tutorial sessions with their respective groups, during which they explain the students’ roles and responsibilities during their placements, discuss any potential challenges students might face either with their teammates or with the agency and guide them in their placement activities. AAs are also required to visit the NGO at least once during the semester. Additional details about the different tasks and assessment weightage performed by the AAs are shown in Table 1.
STUDENT VIEWS ABOUT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND THE IMPACT ON STUDENTS’ LEARNING During the final presentation, positive feedback was received from the students. A written qualitative assessment Journal of Pharmacy Practice and Research (2015) 45, 314–317
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Table 1 Assessment plan for the Community Engagement Elective Task
Type of assessment
Due date
Marks allocated
1 2 3 4 5 6
Personal learning plan 500–1000 words Peer assessment Field educator assessment Project report 2000–3000 words (which includes student’s reflections) Project presentation Academic advisor assessment
Week 3 Week 12 Week 8–9 Week 12 Week 11 Week 14
10.0% Hurdlea Hurdlea 40.0% 30.0% 20.0%
a
A hurdle is a compulsory task; however, it carries no marks.
of this unit was also done in the context of SL; students reported an improvement in their communication, empathy, leadership and decision-making skills. Some of the students’ subjective experiences are worth sharing as they illustrate the achievement of the intended learning outcomes outlined in this unit. Student one: Truly speaking I was an introvert, with limited communication and leadership skills. When I signedup for this unit I had no idea that it would change the way I assess myself. After the completion of this engagement I felt more composed, and confident. Student two: I felt more empathic towards people and the community Student three: This course has given me the opportunity to communicate with people of different age and educational backgrounds. I have no hesitation in saying that this unit has given me new insights about myself and my professional life in the future Student four: During the community engagement we had a chance to organize a fund-raising campaign. It was the first time for me to lead and market a fund-raising campaign. I devised the plan for the whole campaign and managed to collect 1500 Malaysian ringgit. I feel so much more confident now and I can lead any project. Student five: I am more patient now and I can listen to others. Moreover I know more about the Malaysian people, their challenges and how they cope with their conditions on a day-to-day basis.
problems faced by the NGOs, which were identified during their SL experience. The unit is currently undergoing amendments to incorporate more research components. This includes more lectures and tutorials on proposal writing and research methodology, as well as a change to students’ assessments where each group will have to submit a research proposal on proposed research to be carried out at the respective organisations.
CONCLUSION The community engagement unit was found to be an effective way to implement the concept of SL among the pharmacy students at MM. The tasks and assessments incorporated in this unit have not only provided the chance to students to improve their communication skills but also enabled them to develop empathy and leadership abilities, which are valuable lifelong skills for a pharmacy graduate. More undergraduate programs, especially those involving the healthcare professions, should thus be encouraged to adopt and implement SL as part of their curricula given the significant impact, not only on the students, but more importantly on the community at large.
Competing interests None declared.
REFERENCES FUTURE DIRECTIONS There is currently a move towards linking SL with community-based participatory research. Also known as participatory action research, students will be encouraged to work collaboratively with members of community organisations to decide the method and scope of the research.12,13 Data generated from research can then be used to inform the design of interventions to address the Journal of Pharmacy Practice and Research (2015) 45, 314–317
1 Khan TM. Critical considerations in pharmacy curriculum development in South Asian and Southeast Asian developing nations. Am J Pharm Educ 2010; 74: 176g. 2 Khan TM, Anwar M, Mueen Ahmed KK. A perspective for clinical pharmacy curriculum development and validation in Asian developing nations. J Young Pharm 2011; 3: 151–4. DOI: 10.4103/09751483.80304. 3 Roche VF, Jones RM, Hinman CE, Seoldo N. A service-learning elective in Native American culture, health and professional practice. Am J Pharm Educ 2007; 71: 129.
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4 University of Maryland. Defining service learning and its importance [database on the Internet] 2014 [cited 25 Oct 2014]. Available from: . 5 Howard JPF. Academic service learning: a counternormative pedagogy. New Dir Teach Learn 1998; 1998: 21–9. DOI: 10.1002/tl.7303. 6 Speedie MK, Baldwin JN, Carter RA, Raehl CL, Yanchick VA, Maine LL. Cultivating ‘habits of mind’in the scholarly pharmacy clinician: report of the 2011–12 Argus Commission. Am J Pharm Educ 2012; 76: S3. 7 Murawski MM, Murawski D, Wilson M. Service-learning and pharmaceutical education: an exploratory survey. Am J Pharm Educ 1999; 63: 160–4. 8 Vogelgesang LJ, Astin AW. Comparing the effects of community service and service-learning. Michigan J Community Serv Learn 2000; 7: 25–34. 9 Khan TM, Madu Emeka P, Aljadhey H, Haseeb A. Study investigating pharmacy students’ interprofessional perceptions toward the
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pharmacy profession in Saudi Arabia. Curr Pharm Teach Learn 2015; 7: 62–9. DOI: 10.1016/j.cptl.2014.09.019. Ministry of Education Malaysia. Preliminary report Malaysia education blueprint (2013–2025). 2013. Guidelines on approval and recognition of a pharmacy programme, Pharmacy Board Malaysia [database on the Internet] 2007 [cited 5 Oct 2014]. Available from: . Furco A. Advancing service-learning at research universities. New Dir High Educ 2001; 2001: 67–78. DOI: 10.1002/he.15. Marcus MT, Taylor WC, Hormann MD, Walker T, Carroll D. Linking service-learning with community-based participatory research: an interprofessional course for health professional students. Nurs Outlook 2011; 59: 47–54. DOI: 10.1016/j.outlook.2010.10.001.
Received: 6 November 2014 Revised version received: 18 February 2015 Accepted: 26 February 2015
Journal of Pharmacy Practice and Research (2015) 45, 314–317
