Course code(s) and title(s):

PHAR 2018
Interprofessional Learning for Medication Safety

Department: School of Pharmacy 

Subject area: chronic disease management, clinical pharmacy, health technology assessment, pharmacogenomics and innovative technology to improve patient care 

Instructor: Professor Vivian Lee  

Professor Lee is currently an Associate Professor at the Centre for Learning Enhancement And Research at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). She is also an Associate Professor (by courtesy) at the Faculty of Medicine, the Nethersole School of Pharmacy and the School of Pharmacy at CUHK.

Post-discussion notes 

Professor Lee believed pharmacy majors must display interprofessional cooperative competence, possess a global sense, and be outreaching in practice. Knowing the world trend and obtaining the most updated information in the medical field, for example, on infectious disease, is of utmost importance. Given the mobilization and resistance of microbials, students must also be familiar with the international standard advised by World Health Organization (WHO), for instance, on the use of antibiotics. The need to develop a global sense is imminent because it helps students to understand medical situations in a more comprehensive way to cope with the highly multiculturally diverse patient demographics. Professor Lee stressed that pharmacy graduates must display a global sense and understanding of different cultures. One prominent example is that an aging world population means medical issues like dementia and fall prevention are faced by all countries and diverse preventive measures are devised by experts from different countries. Knowing how other metropolitan cities with buildings of packed interior space and narrow staircases take preventive measures on fall prevention, CUHK students could benefit from these international practices to help patients who encounter similar medical conditions in the local context. Except a global/international perspective, students should also develop an intercultural awareness even if the majority of graduates opt for jobs in local hospitals or clinics. According to Professor Lee, a heightened awareness on interculturality is vital because the Hong Kong population is now composed of a more diverse ethnicity, with different cultural and religious backgrounds. One example is that students who study public health must understand the importance of patient mobilization. The local patient pool consists largely of mainlanders who have a very different drinking and smoking habit and/or dietary preferences. Our graduates must be equipped with not only the necessary skill set but also be prepared with open-mindedness to respond appropriately to patients’ needs and respect the patients of different cultural backgrounds. The element of interculturality, to Professor Lee, has a ripple effect which allows her students to help patients and learn their cultural-specific needs in order to provide precise diagnosis.

Professor Lee shared her experience on designing a one-credit bearing course, Interprofessional Learning for Medication Safety (PHAR 2018), which started in 2018 to scale up and improve the inter-professional education (IPE) program. This summer course engages interdisciplinary cooperation to provide training workshops and outreach voluntary activities for university students and volunteers from secondary schools. The course is conducted in summer, but the outreach activities are spread over term time. The course is explicitly designed to nurture the students of Faculty of Medicine to develop a global citizen mindset and an ability to observe and find solutions for social problems locally and globally. This course objective matches the teaching philosophy and beliefs in delivering a course which allows students to develop a sense of global-mindedness and global citizenship. One of the expected learning outcomes is to enhance students’ understanding toward global citizenship and social enterprisingness. Upon completion of the course, students are expected to apply and make good use of the healthcare training to plan and establish health related strategies for the other population groups either in local or nearby regions.

A wonderful serenity has taken possession of my entire soul, like these sweet mornings of spring which I enjoy.

Elements of internationalized curriculum

1. Support from other faculty members, both teaching and non-teaching staff: 
Professor Lee stressed that to design and develop the inter-professional service learning program: CU CHAMPION (Community Health And Medication-safety Promotion Inter-school Outreach network), support from faculty members and non-teaching staff is of paramount importance. The program started with merely 9 students and gradually grew, The Nethersole School of Nursing joined in 2010; School of Medicine and Department of Social Work joined in 2013; Department of Food and Nutritional Science joined in 2018. The alignment of 5 to 6 curricula requires shared values and devotion among the teaching staff from different faculties. Teamwork and initiatives from student participants are also deciding factor to provide social services and to promote interdisciplinary collaboration.

2. Institutional support from managerial level: 
It is believed that with institutional support with resources and funding, teachers will have more space to plan and implement IoC. For example, with a sizable amount of Teaching Development and Language Enhancement Grant (TDLEG) funding, two full-time staffs were added to the team to help facilitate the growth and sustainability of the course. In addition to TDLEG, Knowledge Transfer Project Funds (KTPF) were also obtained from the university for the sustainability of the IPE initiatives. It is a joint effort between teachers and students to address issues in the community and knowledge transfer to the community, which is in line with the university’s teaching strategic goals – innovation and design.

Prof Lee shared her experience on designing a one-credit bearing course, Interprofessional Learning for Medication Safety (PHAR 2018), which started in 2018 to scale up and improve the inter-professional education (IPE) program. This summer course engages interdisciplinary cooperation to provide training workshops and outreach voluntary activities for university students and volunteers from secondary schools. The course is conducted in summer, but the outreach activities are spread over term time. The course is explicitly designed to nurture the students of Faculty of Medicine to develop a global citizen mindset and an ability to observe and find solutions for social problems locally and globally. This course objective matches the teaching philosophy and beliefs in delivering a course which allows students to develop a sense of global-mindedness and global citizenship. One of the expected learning outcomes is to enhance students’ understanding toward global citizenship and social enterprisingness. Upon completion of the course, students are expected to apply and make good use of the healthcare training to plan and establish health related strategies for the other population groups either in local or nearby regions.

A wonderful serenity has taken possession of my entire soul, like these sweet mornings of spring which I enjoy.

Potential enablers of IoC

1. Complexity of the program. 
The CU CHAMPION program involves many disciplines which also means that administrative work is a concern. With the size of around 200 students participating in the outreach activities, assessment, resources and classroom booking can be difficult in practicality.

2. Professional support and sustainability of the program. 
To expand the current program from 4 participating faculties to 8 faculties, Professor Lee believed a change of course title from a PHAR course to a General Education course could be of great help to draw more support from other faculties. She also expressed that junior staffs were more active in the idea of collaborating in participation.

Prof Lee shared her experience on designing a one-credit bearing course, Interprofessional Learning for Medication Safety (PHAR 2018), which started in 2018 to scale up and improve the inter-professional education (IPE) program. This summer course engages interdisciplinary cooperation to provide training workshops and outreach voluntary activities for university students and volunteers from secondary schools. The course is conducted in summer, but the outreach activities are spread over term time. The course is explicitly designed to nurture the students of Faculty of Medicine to develop a global citizen mindset and an ability to observe and find solutions for social problems locally and globally. This course objective matches the teaching philosophy and beliefs in delivering a course which allows students to develop a sense of global-mindedness and global citizenship. One of the expected learning outcomes is to enhance students’ understanding toward global citizenship and social enterprisingness. Upon completion of the course, students are expected to apply and make good use of the healthcare training to plan and establish health related strategies for the other population groups either in local or nearby regions.

A wonderful serenity has taken possession of my entire soul, like these sweet mornings of spring which I enjoy.

Potential blockers of IoC 

1. Complexity of the program. 
The CU CHAMPION program involves many disciplines which also means that administrative work is a concern. With the size of around 200 students participating in the outreach activities, assessment, resources and classroom booking can be difficult in practicality.

2. Professional support and sustainability of the program. 
To expand the current program from 4 participating faculties to 8 faculties, Professor Lee believed a change of course title from a PHAR course to a General Education course could be of great help to draw more support from other faculties. She also expressed that junior staffs were more active in the idea of collaborating in participation.

Prof Lee shared her experience on designing a one-credit bearing course, Interprofessional Learning for Medication Safety (PHAR 2018), which started in 2018 to scale up and improve the inter-professional education (IPE) program. This summer course engages interdisciplinary cooperation to provide training workshops and outreach voluntary activities for university students and volunteers from secondary schools. The course is conducted in summer, but the outreach activities are spread over term time. The course is explicitly designed to nurture the students of Faculty of Medicine to develop a global citizen mindset and an ability to observe and find solutions for social problems locally and globally. This course objective matches the teaching philosophy and beliefs in delivering a course which allows students to develop a sense of global-mindedness and global citizenship. One of the expected learning outcomes is to enhance students’ understanding toward global citizenship and social enterprisingness. Upon completion of the course, students are expected to apply and make good use of the healthcare training to plan and establish health related strategies for the other population groups either in local or nearby regions.

A wonderful serenity has taken possession of my entire soul, like these sweet mornings of spring which I enjoy.

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