Making the Most of Pharmacy School

Abstract

I attended pharmacy school in an era when a student could succeed by memorizing what the instructor said in class and repeating it on multiple-choice examinations. A good set of notes, either my own or someone else's, was most of what was necessary to do well. One of the biggest changes in pharmacy education over the past 30 years is the realization that learning from classroom lectures is insufficient to prepare students to practice pharmacy. It has become more clear each year that the most important learning occurs outside of the classroom. The pharmacy academic community is well attuned to this and has been innovative in developing progressive learning environments that go well beyond the traditional classroom lecture. In 2001, Richard J. Light of Harvard University published a book, Making the Most of College, which compiled his findings from many years of work and thousands of interviews. A key question that he asked was “What choices can students make, and what can teachers and university leaders do, to improve students' experiences and help them achieve the most from their time and money?” This question is as relevant to pharmacy education as it is to any discipline. He found that students were more productive when they learned time management early on and when they studied with others as opposed to studying alone. Also, he documented that independent research projects and working internships offer the most learning as well as the greatest challenges. Research projects and internships were most valuable when accompanied by good mentorship. Students who were successful were more engaged outside of class. They participated in cooperative learning; they organized their time to include activities with faculty members or other students. They were active in professional and social organizations. Also, these students were more engaged in their education through active-learning activities, such as writing. Much is going on in pharmacy education to enhance the educational experience through activities outside the traditional classroom. Many of these innovations are evident in the pages of the Journal. They span a wide spectrum, from patient simulation laboratories to involvement in elective research projects, to active-learning approaches such as problem-based learning, service-learning, and learning in interprofessional settings. While any one of these alone may not be the ultimate answer for pharmacy education, the overall direction of greater student participation in their learning has and will continue to improve pharmacy education. There are many other factors that influence student success in pharmacy and I am by no means suggesting that what happens in class is unimportant. I recently conducted an informal poll of the top 30 students in our second-year class to determine if there were patterns that related to their success. I was particularly concerned that some students were working too much and others were frequently missing class. What was most striking was that the best students missed few classes. On average, they reported attending more than 90% of live classes, even though our College records and makes all lectures available online. Also, while 75% of these students worked as pharmacy interns, the average work time was 8 hours per week, while other “less academically successful” students are working 20 to 30 hours per week suggesting, not surprisingly, that a balance in class and outside activities is important. While we spend considerable time and effort on fine tuning lectures for the traditional class setting, the more important parts of learning may be short changed. While we improve what happens within the 4 walls of the classroom, greater attention should be placed on those activities that happen outside of class that determine how well students learn. These extramural activities influence the actual and perceived quality of their learning and assure that students make the most of pharmacy school.