academic neighborhood, The

American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, Spring 2001 by Roche, Victoria F

Time marches on...exponentially it would seem. While there's nothing more satisfying than living a long, full and rich life, the telltale signs of aging can be a little disconcerting when they first raise their graying heads. These signs can include things like finding out that the children of your former students have registered for your class, being able to stand only half an hour of the band the students have hired for the spring banquet, being prescribed medications your grandmother used to take, and realizing that you're a card-carrying member of the "aging boomer" population that is driving the increased demand for pharmacists.

Another sure sign of aging is watching icons of your youth disappear from the contemporary scene (or, in the case of Mick Jagger, refuse to go). For example, last year Fred Rogers announced his retirement. After 30 years on the public television airways, this gentle friend of children finally packed away the zippered cardigan, tossed out the worn and comfy canvas shoes, found a good home for the goldfish, and turned out the light in his living room for the last time. There goes the neighborhood!

Many of us watched Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood ourselves and/or watched our children eagerly take in his compassionately delivered lessons on life. Although "nerdy" perhaps by today's MTV standards, he obviously was doing something right to have lasted so long. What lessons linger for us in pharmacy education? What parallels can we draw between Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood and the academic neighborhood we call home?

For one, the learning environment Mr. Rogers established for children was one of total acceptance, and there was the distinct feeling of a learning partnership established between him and his youthful viewers. In my experience, pharmacy faculty have always accepted their students as proteges and worked patiently and diligently with those exhibiting varying degrees of competence with the subjects we teach. The idea of being partners in learning with our students, however, is comparatively new, but all signs point to the fact that the academy has embraced the concept. We assess student learning not only to evaluate their performance but also to help ourselves and our colleagues better accomplish our own classroom and clinic goals. Those adopting Angelo and Cross' CAT approach(1) to formative assessment make sure students are informed of the outcomes of in-class assessment exercises so that an open discussion of what's working (and what's not) can take place, and plans to enhance learning can be formulated together. The active and problem-based learning strategies that so many are employing relinquish at least some control of the learning environment to the learners themselves, and give students the opportunity to bring information and insight to the classroom that is new to everyone, including the faculty. One of many positive outcomes of this new commitment to learning partnerships is that, by being responsible for facilitating the learning of peers, students can discover the joys of teaching early on, and be more readily mentored into post-graduate educational programs and academic careers.

Those visiting Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood felt valued for who they were. It didn't matter what color their skin was or where their grandparents came from. It didn't matter what their native language sounded like, or how they worshipped their God. All were welcome. Likewise, the academic neighborhood has recognized the value and importance of diversity at all levels of our enterprise. In 1994 the AACP House of Delegates went on record in support of the American Council on Education's Statement on Affirmative Action and Diversity(2). While supporting institutional autonomy and appreciating the diverse and unique institutional missions of our nation's universities, the Council's statement claims that: "One of higher education's essential functions is to broaden the perspectives of students by exposing them to individuals from different backgrounds and to a variety of disciplines, cultures, and points of view. Given the enormous changes taking place in our nation and the world, no person in the 21st century will be considered to have received a quality education without such exposure."

Going further, in 1998 AACP President Jordan Cohen established an Ad Hoc Committee on Affirmative Action and Diversity to evaluate the degree of success schools and colleges were having in achieving diversity within their organization and curriculum, and to suggest strategies for increasing our commitment to diversity in order to meet society's (and our own) expectations. The final report of this Committee is now available on the AACP web page and in the 2000 Winter Supplement issue of our Journal(3), and I encourage you to read it if you haven't already done so. It effectively establishes the link between cultural competence/sensitivity and the ability to provide quality patient care in an increasingly diverse society. The Committee also reminds the academy of two very important things: (i) that "diversity in the professional workforce can only be achieved through diversity in the classroom," and (ii) the importance of positive role models (e.g., faculty, graduate students) in fostering leadership in students from underrepresented minority backgrounds.