(18) Assessing pharmacy student perceptions of a new cultural safety course

Objective : To assess student perceptions of the initial offering of a mandatory cultural humility course for 120 first-year pharmacy students.

Methods: The team developed a mandatory 12-week hybrid course comprised of two hours/week of online and/or in-person material. Responding to Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action, the course highlighted Indigenous Peoples’ health experiences. Material development was guided by an Indigenous advisory committee with content created by educational developers, whose area is Indigenous knowledges and anti-racist pedagogies. Online modules were supplemented with guest speakers on topics including racism, gender and sexual minorities, Indigenous health, and bias. Informal feedback was solicited in weeks 1, 6 and 12, as well as an end-of-course survey.

Results: At the mid-point, students described the course as “thought provoking” and information specifically relating to Indigenous history as new knowledge. Students indicated that the course was quite educational (50%), followed by extremely (23%) and moderately (20%) educational. Overall, students identified modules/speakers related to biases, microaggressions and structural and systemic racism as most impactful. The most impactful seminars focused on Indigenous healing practices, and a community-based activity for Canada’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Students identified areas for improvement including broader representation of diverse groups, connecting content to healthcare, perceived biases by classmates, and attending challenging but non-mandatory seminars. The takeaways students most frequently noted were the importance of listening to patients, being open-minded in providing safe patient care, continuously learning, and recognizing all patients are unique.

Conclusions: Our evaluation identified that students find learning related to cultural humility valuable but challenging. Instructors must exercise care in framing the course purpose and building in (and monitoring) opportunities for safe discussion.