Implementation and evaluation of activities to foster a sense of community among pharmacy students

Abstract Introduction The purpose of this study was to investigate the association of a series of team-based instructional activities on students’ sense of community for pharmacy students assigned to the main and distance program sites. Materials and methods In conjunction with a teaching objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) conducted at the program’s distance site, several team-based sense of community activities were completed. The classroom and school community inventory (CSCI) was adapted and administered to students prior to and following all learning activities to measure course and program sense of community. Results Pre- and post-surveys were completed by 116 students. Course and program sense of community significantly increased among students at the distance site ( p = 0.007 and p = 0.008, respectively). No significant changes were found for students assigned to the main site. Conclusion For programs with multiple sites, activities designed to enhance sense of community and conducted at the distance site are effective for students assigned to the distance site.