%0 Journal Article
%T Addressing Cultural Competency in Pharmacy Education through International Service Learning and Community Engagement
%A Rosemin Kassam
%A Augusto Estrada
%A Yvonne Huang
%A Birpaul Bhander
%A John B. Collins
%J Pharmacy
%D 2013
%I MDPI AG
%R 10.3390/pharmacy1010016
%X This paper describes the design, implementation and evaluation of a course in international service learning and community engagement for pharmacy undergraduate students. The course offered students opportunities to cultivate cultural competency in an international setting foreign to their own¡ªSub-Saharan Africa. The experience consisted of pre-departure preparation seminars followed by subsequent community immersion to experience, explore and confront personal attitudes and perceptions. A key feature of this course was its emphasis on a continuing cycle of learning, community engagement and reflection. Three students participated, a near-maximum cohort. Their daily self-reflections were qualitatively analyzed to document the impact of their cultural learning and experiences and revealed meaningful learning in the domains of self-assessment and awareness of their personal and professional culture, exposure to a participatory health delivery model involving the patient, the community and a multidisciplinary team and opportunities to engage in patient care in a different cultural setting. This proof-of-concept course provided students with experiences that were life-changing on both personal and professional levels and confirmed the viability and relevance of international service learning for the pharmacy field within its university-wide mandate.
%K cultural competence
%K international service learning
%K undergraduate pharmacy education
%U http://www.mdpi.com/2226-4787/1/1/16