Co-Curriculum

The Co-Curriculum: Student Personal and Professional Development

“Gaining More When Actively Involved”

Purpose

The Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) Standards 2016 require that professional pharmacy degree programs include co-curricular activities (CCAs) to ‘complement and advance the learning that occurs within the formal didactic and experiential curriculum’. The educational outcomes 2013 of the Center for the Advancement of Pharmacy Education (CAPE) of Domain 2 “Essentials for Practice and Care” reinforce promoting health and wellness and population-based care. CAPE’s Domain 3 “Approach to Patient and Care” emphasizes problem solving, education, patient advocacy, collaboration, cultural sensitivity and communication. CAPE’s Domain 4 “Personal and Professional Development” emphasizes self-awareness, leadership, innovation, entrepreneurship and professionalism.

Objectives

LAU’s School of Pharmacy co-curriculum allows pharmacy students to participate in self-directed lifelong learning through personal and professional development activities that are aimed to enhance students’ knowledge, skills, abilities and attitudes to become well-rounded practitioners. In collaboration with LAU’s Office of Civic Engagement (OCE), a diverse pool of CCAs specifically designed to develop and advance pharmacy students’ skills in the following arenas:

1. Problem Solving (Problem Solver) – Identify problems, explore and prioritize potential strategies, and design, implement, and evaluate a viable solution (CAPE 3.1).
2. Educator (Educator) – Educate all audiences by determining the most effective and enduring ways to impart information and assess understanding (CAPE 3.2).
3. Patient Advocacy (Advocate) - Assure that patients’ best interests are represented (CAPE 3.3).
4. Interprofessional collaboration (Collaborator) – Actively participate and engage as a healthcare team member by demonstrating mutual respect, understanding, and values to meet patient care needs (CAPE 3.4).
5. Cultural sensitivity (Includer) - Recognize social determinants of health to diminish disparities and inequities in access to quality care (CAPE 3.5).
6. Communication (Communicator) – Effectively communicate verbally and nonverbally when interacting with an individual, group, or organization (CAPE 3.6).
7. Self-awareness (Self-aware) – Examine and reflect on personal knowledge, skills, abilities, beliefs, biases, motivation, and emotions that could enhance or limit personal and professional growth (CAPE 4.1).
8. Leadership (Leader) - Demonstrate responsibility for creating and achieving shared goals, regardless of position (CAPE 4.2).
9. Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Innovator) - Engage in innovative activities by using creative thinking to envision better ways of accomplishing professional goals (CAPE 4.3).
10. Professionalism (Professional) - Exhibit behaviors and values that are consistent with the trust given to the profession by patients, other healthcare providers, and society (CAPE 4.4).

Co-Curricular Activities

CCAs are typically conducted outside classroom setting and encompass learning outcomes that take time to gain through multiple experiences and exposures in order to hone and attain mastery. They range from self-development workshops to hands-on service learning and community outreach projects. View the CCAs contracted sheet (for students | for faculty and staff).

The co-curriculum program consists of required and optional CCAs. CCAs allocated to each professional year address specific themes of development:

Student Portfolio

Each student’s professional experiences are documented in individual electronic portfolios (Portfolio guide). These are reflected upon by the student and reviewed with feedback by the CCA coordinator.

Co-Curriculum Management

A faculty coordinator (Dr. Aline Bou Maroun) oversees the co-curriculum with the support of an academic assistant. The coordinator reports to the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. CCAs are organized with a select student group including student societies, office of student affairs, school’s events and experiential education committees, and OCE.