Service or Disservice? Ensuring Pharmacy Students Provide Authentic Service-Learning

• Published in: American journal of pharmaceutical education Vol. 83; no. 7; pp. 7465 - 1445
• Main Authors: Dicks, Melanie, Mitchell, Trenika
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01-09-2019; American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy; Elsevier Limited; American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education
• Subjects: Blood pressure; Child & adolescent psychiatry; community; Community service; Curricula; Curriculum; Education; experiential education; Experiential learning; Feedback; Higher education; Learner Engagement; Learning; National service; Pharmaceutical Education; Pharmacists; Pharmacy; Schools; Service learning; Services; soft-skills; Student Projects; student reflection; Students; Study and teaching; Teaching; Universities and colleges; United States > US; San Francisco California; student reflection; experiential education; community; service-learning; soft-skills
• ISSN: 0002-9459; 1553-6467
• DOI: 10.5688/ajpe7465

Service-learning is an academic activity that most US colleges and schools of pharmacy report including in their curriculum. Service-learning can be a valuable form of experiential education that helps to reinforce didactic curricula and develop and refine the soft skills needed for pharmacy practice. However, while providing various forms of service in communities, student pharmacists may not be conducting authentic service-learning. To be considered authentic, service-learning requires the adoption of structured learning outcomes, engaged and prepared students, mutually beneficial experiences for community and students, and completion of student reflection guided with faculty feedback.3-6 Considering all of these essential elements, perhaps service-learning is not occurring in communities and pharmacy education today as much as we thought.