Serving with Pharmacy Students: Reflections from a Medical Mission Team Leader and Preceptor

Abstract

The medical mission field is an innovative setting for training and evaluating health care professional students. The motivating factor of serving indigent populations as a means of a humanitarian, or oftentimes a spiritual act, makes medical missions an attractive option for student participation. At the Gregory School of Pharmacy, medical mission teams are an integral part of the pharmacy program, including the opportunity for students to earn elective credit during their fourth year. This commentary provides five key elements to consider when serving with, training and evaluating pharmacy students from the perspective of a team leader and preceptor.

Keywords

• pharmacy
• medical missions
• pharmacy students