Preparing Pharmacy Students to Consider Issues of “Public Good”: Research Evidence From an Innovative Classroom Unit

• In Event: Teaching Innovations in the Education of Professionals

Abstract

This paper illustrates how socially-complex decision-making can be applied in fourth year pharmacy classes as a preparation for students’ upcoming practicum. The instructional approach integrated large-classroom lectures on medicinal chemistry, pharmacology and clinical practice with the analysis of pharmaceutical advertisements. The results indicated that students (a) evaluated common advertisements as less than optimal in communicating scientific facts and (b) recognized several claims that targeted consumer values to influence purchasing behavior. After instructions, students’ (c) rationale for their perspective was more complex with deeper consideration of public benefit.

Authors

• Eva Erdosne Toth, West Virginia University

• Paula Witt-Enderby, Duquesne University

• Maria Demetriou, Duquesne University

• Stephanie Horner, West Virginia University