Cultural Competency Through a Pharmacy Skills Course Series
Cultural Competency Through a Pharmacy Skills Course Series
Objective. To incorporate cultural competency in a Pharmacy Skills and Application course series and assess the level of cultural competency in students who did and did not complete the courses.
Design. The course series focused on cultural competency throughout the PharmD curriculum and included such activities as self-reflection, lecture, diversity service-learning, case studies, and discussion.
Assessment. The Inventory for Assessing the Process of Cultural Competence Among Healthcare Professionals – Revised (IAPCC-R) was used to measure cultural competence in 2 cohorts: the last class preceding implementation of the new course series and the first class after its implementation. Overall scores between the 2 cohorts were not significantly different; however, 2 subscale scores were significantly higher among students who completed the course series: cultural skills (p = 0.021) and cultural encounters (p = 0.048).
Conclusions. The Pharmacy Skills and Application course series appears to improve some aspects of cultural competence in pharmacy students, but may not be sufficient to elicit change in all areas.
Ethnic minorities constitute over one-third of the US population. Although ethnicity is just one element of culture, health care is affected by the increasing diversity in our country. Health care providers are more likely than they were in the past to interact with patients who speak a different language or have different health beliefs.
Cultural competence is defined by the Office of Minority Health as "a set of congruent behaviors, attitudes, and policies that come together in a system, agency, or among professionals that enables effective work in cross-cultural situations." Culturally competent care has been linked to improved health outcomes and the elimination of health disparities. Consequently, pharmacy students should undergo adequate training so they are prepared to interact with and serve the needs of culturally diverse patients. The current ACPE Accreditation Standards emphasize that each "college or school must ensure that the curriculum addresses patient safety, cultural appreciation, health literacy, health care disparities, and competencies needed to work as a member of or on an interprofessional team." The CAPE outcomes also state that pharmacy curricula should teach students to provide "culturally and linguistically appropriate pharmaceutical care services to diverse patient populations."
In a 2007 survey of US colleges and schools of pharmacy, 93.9% of respondents agreed that cultural competency topics needed to be added to required courses. Nearly half of the respondents had plans to implement new topics and/or courses.
A variety of strategies to address cultural competency within the curriculum have been published. Although one study described an elective course for pharmacy students, the majority of studies describe required courses that incorporate cultural competency content into the curriculum. Although the studies implemented slightly different teaching approaches, the majority of assessment strategies focused on student satisfaction with the course and assignments, or students' self-perceived level of cultural competency. Only Poirier and colleagues used the IAPCC-R to measure cultural competence.
The Drake University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences revised its doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) curriculum to better address cultural competency. The previous curriculum included only a patient counseling practicum on cultural competency consisting of a 1-hour lecture and 2-hour laboratory on verbal counseling skills for diverse cultural populations. In the new curriculum, the Pharmacy Skills and Applications series consists of 6 courses (18 credits) across the first 3 years of the PharmD program. One of the core areas within the course series is cultural competence.
The objectives of this study were to assess the level of cultural competency among pharmacy students, as well as to describe and assess the impact of the Pharmacy Skills and Application series on pharmacy students' self-assessed level of cultural competence using the IAPCC-R. The paper provides examples and data on how other colleges can implement and measure cultural competency outcomes in pharmacy students using a validated instrument.
Abstract and Introduction
Abstract
Objective. To incorporate cultural competency in a Pharmacy Skills and Application course series and assess the level of cultural competency in students who did and did not complete the courses.
Design. The course series focused on cultural competency throughout the PharmD curriculum and included such activities as self-reflection, lecture, diversity service-learning, case studies, and discussion.
Assessment. The Inventory for Assessing the Process of Cultural Competence Among Healthcare Professionals – Revised (IAPCC-R) was used to measure cultural competence in 2 cohorts: the last class preceding implementation of the new course series and the first class after its implementation. Overall scores between the 2 cohorts were not significantly different; however, 2 subscale scores were significantly higher among students who completed the course series: cultural skills (p = 0.021) and cultural encounters (p = 0.048).
Conclusions. The Pharmacy Skills and Application course series appears to improve some aspects of cultural competence in pharmacy students, but may not be sufficient to elicit change in all areas.
Introduction
Ethnic minorities constitute over one-third of the US population. Although ethnicity is just one element of culture, health care is affected by the increasing diversity in our country. Health care providers are more likely than they were in the past to interact with patients who speak a different language or have different health beliefs.
Cultural competence is defined by the Office of Minority Health as "a set of congruent behaviors, attitudes, and policies that come together in a system, agency, or among professionals that enables effective work in cross-cultural situations." Culturally competent care has been linked to improved health outcomes and the elimination of health disparities. Consequently, pharmacy students should undergo adequate training so they are prepared to interact with and serve the needs of culturally diverse patients. The current ACPE Accreditation Standards emphasize that each "college or school must ensure that the curriculum addresses patient safety, cultural appreciation, health literacy, health care disparities, and competencies needed to work as a member of or on an interprofessional team." The CAPE outcomes also state that pharmacy curricula should teach students to provide "culturally and linguistically appropriate pharmaceutical care services to diverse patient populations."
In a 2007 survey of US colleges and schools of pharmacy, 93.9% of respondents agreed that cultural competency topics needed to be added to required courses. Nearly half of the respondents had plans to implement new topics and/or courses.
A variety of strategies to address cultural competency within the curriculum have been published. Although one study described an elective course for pharmacy students, the majority of studies describe required courses that incorporate cultural competency content into the curriculum. Although the studies implemented slightly different teaching approaches, the majority of assessment strategies focused on student satisfaction with the course and assignments, or students' self-perceived level of cultural competency. Only Poirier and colleagues used the IAPCC-R to measure cultural competence.
The Drake University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences revised its doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) curriculum to better address cultural competency. The previous curriculum included only a patient counseling practicum on cultural competency consisting of a 1-hour lecture and 2-hour laboratory on verbal counseling skills for diverse cultural populations. In the new curriculum, the Pharmacy Skills and Applications series consists of 6 courses (18 credits) across the first 3 years of the PharmD program. One of the core areas within the course series is cultural competence.
The objectives of this study were to assess the level of cultural competency among pharmacy students, as well as to describe and assess the impact of the Pharmacy Skills and Application series on pharmacy students' self-assessed level of cultural competence using the IAPCC-R. The paper provides examples and data on how other colleges can implement and measure cultural competency outcomes in pharmacy students using a validated instrument.