A multimodal approach to teaching cultural competency in the doctor of pharmacy curriculum

Objective. To assess first-year pharmacy students’ grades and preferred teaching styles within a multimodal teaching approach for developing cultural competency during a required Pharmaceutical Care I course. Methods. A lecture, two active-learning exercises (global bead and trading places), and an in-class quiz were used to teach students about cultural competency in preparation for a practicum. A four-hour practicum consisting of videos, structured discussion, counseling, and a survey were used in this multimodal approach. Student quiz and practicum grades and survey results were analyzed. Reflection responses were collected. Results. Students scored an average of 86.1% on the in-class quiz and 92.6% on the practicum. Average rankings on the Trading Places exercise demonstrated a change in students’ individual biases. Students perceived the practicum, lecture, and Worlds Apart videos to be the most useful elements of the cultural competency curriculum. Conclusion. The practicum and lecture were the teaching methods most preferred by students for conveying cultural competency; however, students agreed that all of the teaching methods used helped them to achieve the desired learning objectives. Students’ grades improved from the quiz to the practicum, which may indicate enhanced cultural knowledge via a multimodal teaching approach.