Objective: To design and assess an innovative session for pharmacy students that addresses the role of pharmaceuticals with climate change and sustainability.
Innovation: One hundred and sixteen third-year students at the University of California, San Francisco School of Pharmacy participated during their required Health Policy course. This 3-hour session included guided pre-course activities, an interactive lecture, a panel of healthcare professionals discussing complex decision-making and small group case-based learning. Curricular assessment was conducted through pre-/post-test measures of knowledge acquisition, student evaluations, and course projects.
Critical analysis: One hundred and two students (response rate 88%) completed the pre-test and 115 students (response rate 99%) completed the post-test assessment. We identified a significant increase in the proportion of correct answers on post-test questions addressing drug disposal legislation (75% pre-test vs 91% post-test, p=0.002) and the predicted effects of climate change on health (55% pre-test vs 90% post-test, p < 0.001). The session was also well received; average student evaluation scores were above 4 in all areas of course evaluation (where 5=ideal). In addition, 17% of student groups (relative to 0% in 2015) proposed a sustainability-related policy as their final coursework project.
Next steps: The development and implementation of this brief session resulted in knowledge gain and favorable student response. This project is feasible for other Schools of Pharmacy to adapt and implement.
Keywords: Education; Environmental impact; Pharmaceuticals; Pharmacy; Sustainability.