Education
Educate pharmacy professionals and trainees to provide pharmaceutical care to 2SLGBTQ+ people—this is at the heart of our work at PrideRx.
The Problem
Historically, pharmacists and pharmacy students have limited exposure to topics related to sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression (SOGIE), leaving critical gaps in knowledge and care.
Our Solution
To address the gap in 2SLGBTQ+ training, we worked with 2SLGBTQ+ community partners to co-develop six program learning outcomes for students in the University of British Columbia’s Entry-to-Practice (E2P) Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) program.
Using Biggs’ constructive alignment principles, we worked backward and used these learning outcomes to develop course content, teaching and learning activities, and assessment strategies across all four years of the PharmD program.
The Framework
We developed a curriculum framework for SOGIE education that is predicated on Bruner’s theory of cognitive development. Students are taught foundational content (i.e., the vertical dimension), based on the Accreditation Standards for Canadian Education Programs Leading to the PharmD Degree, that intersects with topics that reinforce the program learning outcomes (i.e., the horizontal dimension). The spiral-shaped model engages both vertical and horizontal dimensions of learning. Instructors are afforded the flexibility to select instructional methods that are best suited for the topic taught.
Curriculum Framework
2SLGBTQ+ Program Learning Outcomes
By the end of the program, students will be able to:
- Provide care to 2SLGBTQ+ people.
- Model and justify inclusive attitudes and behaviours in pharmacy practice.
- Examine their positionality, biases, and power in relation to dominant discourse.
- Question why and how healthcare systems and research uphold cisheteronormativity.
- Demonstrate understanding of sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression, in combination with other social identities, shape the experience of 2SLGBTQ+ people.
- Examine the historical and continued treatment of 2SLGBTQ+ communities in Canada.
Resisting the “Hidden Curriculum”
Shaping students into inclusive and competent healthcare providers requires students to think critically, debate dominant discourse, and sometimes, resist the “hidden curriculum”, or the set of influences defined by the organizational culture that shapes the values of the learner. To manage the impact of the “hidden curriculum” that inadvertently tangles with an equity-focused competency such as 2SLGBTQ+ care, each program learning outcome was designed to complement one of the stages of Priming, Noticing, Processing, and Choosing based on Holme’s framework on reflection (2018).
Throughout the four-year curriculum, students move through the different learning stages. In the priming stage, learners engage with diverse identities. Then in the noticing stage, they recognize their personal biases and assumptions. This is followed by the processing stage, which encourages deeper self-reflection and discussion. Finally, learners reach the choosing stage, where they feel empowered to make informed and inclusive decisions in practice.
Undergraduate Training
Year 1
PHRM_V 100 Foundations of Pharmacy
1-Hour Mandatory Lecture
This lecture introduces and differentiates the concepts of gender, sex, and sexuality, and describes the determinants of 2SLGBTQ+ health.
Year 2
PHRM_V 270 Community Service Learning II
3-Hour Mandatory Workshop
This interactive workshop explores community health through an anti-oppression lens via discussions with community experts and patient partners, inviting students to reflect on the intersection of identities, specifically on gender and queerness, and how it may manifest in a patient’s health journey.
Year 3
PHRM_V 300E Pharmacist’s Role in Gender Responsive 2SLGBTQ+ Care (PROGRESS)
3-Credit Elective Course
This elective course takes a human-centric approach to guide students in examining the historical and contemporary contexts, the role of the pharmacist, and select therapeutic areas related to 2SLGBTQ+ health.
Year 4
PHRM_V 441 Advanced Topics in Pharmacy Practice
1-Hour Asynchronous Module
This module features a 3-part series that covers structural competency, inclusive communication, and inclusive research practice to reinforce previous learnings.
PHRM_V 473 Selected Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience
8-Week Community Engaged Learning Practicum
This elective non-direct patient care practicum offers students the opportunity to work with community-based organizations on a community-engaged learning project that addresses a real-world priority.
Integration Activities
PHRM_V 312 Medication Management V
Integration Activities (IA)—including cases, tutorials, and pharmacy skills labs—run alongside courses throughout Years 1 to 3 of the PharmD curriculum. Patient cases, informed by lived experiences, help students conceptualize theories and apply skills to simulated clinical encounters.