Assessment of first-year student pharmacist’s intercultural competency skills using a validated scale and international scenarios

Abstract

Objective. To assess first-professional year student pharmacists’ level of intercultural competency using international scenarios and a validated scale. Methods. The Wesleyan Intercultural Competence Scale (WICS), a validated questionnaire, was administered to student pharmacists to self-assess their intercultural skills based on their responses to various situations that students encounter in international settings. Student pharmacists rated 16 items on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from “very inaccurate” to “very accurate.” Their responses allowed their intercultural competency skills to be ranked among six developmental stages. Results. The 48 participants had traveled outside of the United States an average of 2.6 times, and 34 (71%) of them spoke another language besides English. Students’ average comfort level with working with culturally diverse health care students was 4.5 out of 5, and their average comfort level with working with patients of different cultures and background was 4.6 out of 5. The students’ average overall score on the WICS was 21.9 out of 36, which indicated the majority of the students were in the acceptance phase of cultural competency. Conclusion. The results of this study can inform pharmacy school faculty and administrators regarding the importance of developing targeted and/or comprehensive cultural competency training for student pharmacists, in both the didactic and experiential settings, especially during global health experiences.