Report of the 2017-2018 Strategic Engagement Standing Committee

A preliminary characterization of and call for benchmarking pharmacy alumni engagement

INTRODUCTION

Alumni are essential but often overlooked stakeholders for pharmacy programs, and engaging alumni in philanthropy, volunteerism, events, and communication may have important implications for the growth and success of pharmacy programs. This research aims to preliminarily characterize pharmacy alumni engagement across four metrics and provide a call to action for standardized tracking and reporting of alumni engagement efforts across the Academy.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey was sent to alumni relations and advancement personnel at United States schools and colleges of pharmacy. The survey gathered information on the accuracy of pharmacy alumni records, alumni engagement within four categories (philanthropy, communication, events, and volunteering), alumni relations personnel, and barriers to alumni engagement efforts.

RESULTS

Respondents reported using various database systems to track and measure alumni engagement, and 41% noted having accurate pharmacy alumni records. Opportunities for alumni engagement within the four categories varied across institutions. Fifty percent of respondents indicated that one full-time equivalent position is allocated to pharmacy alumni engagement efforts at their institution. Barriers to alumni engagement efforts included limited budgets, and staff, engaging alumni via in-person events, and maintaining accurate alumni records.

CONCLUSIONS

The Academy may benefit from expanding the annual alumni survey and developing a consistent tracking mechanism to capture and report alumni engagement activities. Additionally, education on alumni engagement metrics and potential collaborative efforts with institutional alumni relations personnel would be of value. This is vital in developing and optimizing alumni relations efforts and engaging pharmacy alumni bases.

Perceptions of service learning in pharmacy education: A systematic review

BACKGROUND

Pharmacy services have evolved to include direct patient care and a greater role within the community. Service learning (SL) is a specific pedagogy that can provide pharmacy students with live patient interaction and foster community engagement. Although SL is recommended by educational standards, it is not clearly known if students or patients recognize the benefits of these activities. The objectives of this review are to assess student and patient perceptions of SL in the literature, evaluate the different approaches to SL, and describe interprofessional education (IPE) within SL.

METHODS

A literature search was conducted using the Scopus, PubMed, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), ProQuest, Cochrane Review, Academic Search Complete, PsycInfo, and Google Scholar databases. Search terms included "service learning" AND "pharmacy education OR learning" AND "perceptions." Studies were included if they described perceptions of SL in pharmacy education. No timeline restrictions were made.

RESULTS

Fourteen studies were included with SL occurring in didactic, co-curricular, and experiential pharmacy education. Student perceptions were consistently positive and expressed improvements in confidence, knowledge, and abilities. Patient perceptions, when evaluated, were also positive. SL provided a strong and trusting learning environment for IPE.

IMPLICATIONS

SL is a beneficial component in all aspects of pharmacy education. Student and patient perceptions suggest that SL can enhance knowledge and improve overall health outcomes. Incorporating IPE into SL offers benefits to all healthcare professional students.