The hidden curriculum of work-based learning for pharmacy students in public sector pharmacies in South Africa
Keywords:
Hidden Curriculum, Pharmacy Education, Structural Competency, Work-Based LearningAbstract
Background: The work-based learning environment encompasses a dynamic space where the implementation of theoretical knowledge and skills may prove to be at odds with routine service delivery practices, known as the hidden curriculum.
Objective: To describe incidents reflective of the hidden curriculum of fourth year pharmacy students from work-based learning experiences at public healthcare facilities.
Method: A qualitative, descriptive study was conducted. Data from written student reflection reports were thematically analysed.
Results: From 35 reports, three primary themes including time, binaries, and students’ personal histories, influenced interactions in the workplace. These themes illustrated how the students’ professional and personal traits interlocked with historical, structural and cultural influences in the workplace as well as larger society.
Conclusion: Uncovering of the hidden curriculum revealed that the students’ ability to navigate workload pressure, polarisation between groups and their own biases are crucial to firstly survive, and secondly to learn in the workplace.
References
Anderson, C., Bates, I., Beck, D., Brock, T.P., Futter, B., Mercer, H., Rouse, M., Whitmarsh, S., Wuliji, T. & Yonemura, A. (2009). The WHO UNESCO FIP Pharmacy Education Taskforce. Human Resources for Health, 7, 45.
Aultman, J.M. (2005). Uncovering the hidden medical curriculum through a pedagogy of discomfort. Advances in Health Sciences Education, 10, 263-273.
Benjamin, G. C. (2016). Ensuring population health: an important role for pharmacy. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 80(2), 19.
Bheekie, A., Obikeze, K., Bapoo, R. & Ebrahim, N. (2011). Service-learning in pharmacy: opportunities for student learning and service delivery. African Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, 5, 2546-2557.
Darder, A. (2015). Racism in a medically segregated world (online). Truthout, December 2015. Available at: http://www.thruth-out.org/opinion/item/34126-racism-in- a-medically-segregated-world. Accessed 12th Januray, 2016.
Elvey, R., Hassel, K. & Hall, J. (2013). Who do you think you are? Pharmacists’ perception of their professional identity. International Journal of Pharmacy Practice, 21, 332-332.
Ginsberg, S., Regehr, G. & Lingard, L. (2003). To be and not to be: the paradox of the emerging professional stance. Medical Education, 37, 350-357.
Hafferty, F.W. (1998). Beyond curriculum reform: confronting medicine’s hidden curriculum. Academic Medicine, 73 (4), 403-407.
Holmes, C.L., Harris, I.B., Schwartz, A.J. & Regehr, G. (2015). Harnessing the hidden curriculum: a four step approach to developing and reinforcing reflective competencies in medical clinical clerkship. Advances in Health Sciences Education, 20, 1355-1370.
Janicijevic, N. (2013). The mutual impact of organizational culture and structure. Economic Annals, LVIII (198), 35-60.
Kritikos, V., Watt, H.M., Krass, I., Sainsbury, E.J. & Bosnic-Anticevich, S.Z. (2003). Pharmacy students’ perceptions of their profession relative to other health care professions. International Journal of Pharmacy Practice, 11, 121-129.
Lempp, H. & Seale, C. (2004). The hidden curriculum in undergraduate medical education: qualitative study of medical students’ perceptions of teaching. British Medical Journal, 329, 770-773.
Martin, J.R. (1976). What should we do with a hidden curriculum when we find one? Curriculum Inquiry, 6 (2), 135-151.
Mayosi, B.M. & Benatar, S.R. (2014). Health and health care in South Africa - 20 years after Mandela. The New England Journal of Medicine, 371, 14.
McLaughlin, J.E., Dean, M.J., Mumper, R.J., Blouin, R.A. & Roth, M.T. (2013). A roadmap for educational research in pharmacy. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 77 (10), Article 218.
Metzl, J.M. & Hansen, H. (2014). Structural competency: theorizing a new medical engagement with stigma and inequality. Social Science and Medicine, 103, 126-133.
National Department of Health. (2011). National core standards for health establishments in South Africa. Tswane, The Republic of South Africa.
Noble, C., Coombes, I., Shaw, P.N., Nissen, L.M. & Clavarino, A. (2014). Becoming a pharmacist: the role of the curriculum in professional identity formation. Pharmacy Practice, 12 (1), 380.
Phillips, S.P. & Clarke, M. (2012). More than an education: the hidden curriculum, professional attitudes and career choice. Medical Education, 46, 887-893.
Rampele, M. (2012). Conversations with my sons and daughters. Penguin Books, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Reid, L. (2014). Moral distress and moral disorientation in the context of social accountability. Journal of Graduate Medical Education, September 2014, 583-584.
Rosental, M., Austin Z. & Tsuyuki R.T. (2010). Are pharmacists the ultimate barrier to pharmacy practice change? Canadian Pharmacists Journal / Revue des Pharmaciens du Canada, 143(1), 37-42.
Schafheutle, E.I., Hassell, K., Ashcroft, D.M. & Harrison, S. (2013). Organizational philosophy as a new perspective on understanding the learning of professionalism. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 77(10), Article 214.
South African Pharmacy Council. (2011). Pharmacy Human Resources in South Africa 2011 (on-line). Available at: http://www.e2.co.za/emags/phrsa/ pageflip.html. Accessed 6th February, 2015.
Taylor, K.M.G. & Harding, G. (2007). The pharmacy degree: the student experience of professional training. Pharmacy Education, 7(1), 83-88.
Tsingos, C., Bosnic-Anticevich, S. & Smith, L. (2014). Reflective practice and its implications for pharmacy education. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 78(1), Article 18.
Walsh, A. (2007). An exploration of Biggs’ constructive alignment in the context of work-based learning. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 32(1), 79-87.
