Course #: PCOL 819 Health Literacy: Service Learning Elective Course Days – Monday, 2:00 – 5:00 Location – Drachman A122 Three Elective Units   Instructor: Marti Lindsey, MA, MLS, ABD, lindsey@phamacy.arizona.edu 520-626-3692, Skaggs Building Room 318 Office Hours: Wednesday 10:00 – 11:00 and upon request

 

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A service-learning course for the College of Pharmacy[1], University of Arizona, based on the collaboration with the Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy at University of the Pacific and the San Joaquin County Office of Education, the lead organization for the HealthWISE partnership.

 

Health Information Communication is a three-unit course with lab for students with an interest in pharmacy or other health related careers. Students will attend classes each week to learn about health information communication and curricula to be used in classrooms in Tucson. They will complete assignments; make presentations about curricula and their outreach experiences, make journal article reports, write weekly journals of their experiences, and a final summary report. Reading and writing homework is given each week.

 

Students attend class once per week and do service learning / volunteer work at least four hours per week for twelve weeks as part of the course[2]. Students will have the opportunity to be guest lecturers for the Pre-Pharmacy program at the Catalina Health Magnet High School, in addition conducting classroom activities at Wildcat School. Some activities take place on Saturdays. No stipends will be paid to students; however reimbursement can be made for travel expense to schools, if requested.

 

Course Objectives

 

Outcomes Expected of Graduates of the Doctor of Pharmacy Program at the University of Arizona

Domain 3: Health improvement, wellness, and disease prevention  

Description: The graduate will promote health improvement, wellness, and disease prevention in cooperation with patients, communities, at-risk populations, and other members of an inter-professional team of health care providers.

 

Competency 3.2: Demonstrate the skills needed to participate in the preventive service aspects of practice

a. Participate in public education programs (eg, health fairs and screenings)

b. Provide empowerment strategies to control health outcomes

c. Participate in programs for health improvement, wellness, and disease prevention

d. Collaborate with other organizations (eg, governmental organizations, health organizations, business groups)

 

Readings

Rick Brinkman and Rick Kirschner, (2003) Dealing with Difficult People: 24 lessons for Bringing Out the Best in Everytwo. McGraw Hill: NY, NY.

 

Selected papers on environmental health, service learning, and health literacy

 

Class schedule: Most classes will be a combination of reports about the weeks outreach activities, learning new curriculum, journal article presentations, and reflections on readings.

 

Topics

 

Grading

Weekly logs                            20%

In-class presentations             30%    

Class participation                  20%

Teacher feedback                   20%

Summary Report                    10%

 

Rubric provided for each element

 

A: 100-90

B: 89-80

C: 79-70

Less than 'C' is fail

Students not meeting at least a C will be asked to drop the class

 

Students are expected to abide by The University of Arizona Code of Academic Integrity. 'The guiding principle of academic integrity is that a student's submitted work must be the student's own.' If you have any questions regarding what is acceptable practice under this Code, please ask an Instructor.

Accommodating Disabilities

 

The University has a Disability Resource Center. If you anticipate the need for reasonable accommodations to meet the requirements of this course, you must register with the Disability Resource Center and request that the DRC send me, the Instructor, official notification of your accommodation needs as soon as possible. Please plan to meet with me by appointment or during office hours to discuss accommodations and how my course requirements and activities may impact your ability to fully participate.

Assignment Policies

 

i) Expectations: Students are expected to participate in class - you are especially expected to take an active role in discussions.

ii) Other than for medical (or other super-good) reason, no late assignments will be accepted.

iii) Prepare all written work in APA format; and word process or type all work;

iv) Identify your work by placing your name on all of your assignments.

 

The grade of “I” may be awarded only at the end of a semester, when all but a minor portion of the course work has been satisfactorily completed. The grade of “I” is not to be awarded when the student is expected to repeat the course; in such a case the grade of E must be assigned. Students should make arrangements with the instructor to receive an incomplete grade before the end of the semester. If the incomplete is not removed by the instructor within one year the “I” grade will revert to a failing grade.

 

Background and Significance

This course is based on providing optimum experiences for developing social responsibility and heighten civic awareness to pharmacy students through a curriculum designed to promote community service and heightened sensitivity and awareness of the culturally diverse, social, and economic components of health and illness that impact the quality of life in the surrounding community (Nichols-English, White, & Brooks, 2002). To support the outreach efforts a two credit-hour elective course will provide 28 hours of didactic training in community outreach, heath literacy and health communication principles; 44 hours of service related to common diseases with environmental etiologies; and 18 hours of homework and reflection on the service work performed. Through this design the student will be able to integrate academic and clinical skills with principles of community health promotion and prevention. The model for the course is based on the University of the Pacific outreach / service learning experiences. Two University of the Pacific student stated, “If I can communicate health principles to a 5^th grader I can communicate about health with any one.”

 

Service learning is a way to a mutually-fulfilling reciprocal arrangement where students and community members can each be learners and teachers, servers and served reported that introducing service learning during the pharmacy curriculum may help students to:

(i)                  better understand the future patients that they will be serving;

(ii)                recognize the importance of community service; and

(iii)               become more aware of patients' need for social support.

 

The UA course will follow her successful format of: requiring students to submit written goals and objectives prior to starting their experience, to submit a reaction log that reflects upon their experiences at various points in the semester, and to submit a paper regarding health communication and their experiences and perceptions of service to the community. (J. C. Barner, 2000) reported that the reaction logs and the written papers reflected that the service learning experience was enlightening and educational. Students will serve in settings of the partners of the Community Outreach and Education Core of the Southwest Environmental Health Sciences Center.

 

References

Barner, J. C. (2000). First-Year Pharmacy Students' Perceptions of Their Service-Learning Experience. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 64(3), p266-271.

Barner, J. C. (2000). Implementing Service-Learning in the Pharmacy Curriculum (Galley). American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 64(3).

Carter, J. T., & Cochran, G. A. (2002). Service-Learning Projects in a Public Health in Pharmacy Course. Am J Pharm Educ, 66(3).

Lamsam, G. D. (1999). Development of a Service-Learning Program (Galley). American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 63(1).

Nichols-English, G. J., White, C. A., & Brooks, P. J. (2002). Bridging Community Based Pharmacy Outreach with Service-Learning Principles (Galley). American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 66(2)