Student Identification of Medically Underserved Populations During a First-Year Community Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience

Objective

This evaluation determined the ability of first-year (P1) students to recognize medically underserved populations after completing a required community Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience (IPPE).

Methods

Students completed a 40-h community IPPE and submitted post‐experience reflections. Reflection prompts included patient populations they interacted with or observed, and impactful patient interactions or discussions with their preceptors related to medically underserved populations. Content analysis was performed to analyze student reflections.

Results

All 192 first-year pharmacy students completed postrotation reflections; 72.9% (n = 140) accurately identified a medically underserved population. Low-income (37.5%), rural (13%), individuals with limited English proficiency (10.4%), and individuals with disabilities (9.4%) were most frequently identified. Two additional themes emerged from the student reflections: (1) barriers to care and (2) the role of the pharmacist in supporting medically underserved patients. Students (n = 95) listed at least 1 barrier to care (106 instances), with 5 subthemes: low socioeconomic status, limited English proficiency, rurality, disability, and low health literacy. Students (n = 93) also listed at least 1 pharmacist role (130 instances) with 4 subthemes: increasing access to health care, patient advocacy, improving knowledge of medication use, and administering vaccinations.

Conclusion

Most P1 students on their community IPPE identified a medically underserved population, described barriers to care, and listed ways pharmacists can mitigate these barriers. By engaging in this activity with authentic practice-based exposure early in the curriculum, students may be able to perform abstract conceptualization and make connections from classroom to practice to better care for medically underserved populations in the future.