Beyond the Lab: Pharmacy Students Experience Study Away Programs
From the scenic countryside of Texas to the bustling streets of Spain, pharmacy students set out to explore how different cultures and communities approach healthcare.
This summer, second-year students from the UTEP School of Pharmacy experienced academic and professional development beyond the classroom. They took part in the Study Away program, a required faculty-led visit in which students can learn about different opportunities in domestic and international settings. The program places students in academic and cultural settings where they can apply their classroom learning to real-world settings of pharmacy and healthcare while gaining new and beneficial cultural, social and professional perspectives.
"At the UTEP School of Pharmacy, our study away and study abroad program empowers students to step beyond the classroom, gaining invaluable insights into diverse healthcare practices,” said School of Pharmacy Founding Dean José O. Rivera, Pharm.D. “By experiencing both international and rural settings, students build cultural and environmental sensitivity to gain a broader perspective to better serve communities worldwide."
Students have a choice on their destination, depending on faculty availability, financing, duration, and purpose, ranking them by preference. Through hands-on exercises, site visits and engaging in diverse healthcare teams, students gain a new perspective on what it means to be a pharmacist in today’s interconnected world.
Anabelle Gonzalez-Aranda participated in the domestic study away program that took place over Summer 2024 in Alpine, Texas, that explored community engagement opportunities and an understanding of how the actions and resources made available by pharmacists and health professionals affect the local rural community.
“I thought it was very eye opening, and I think it's a very important experience that I would hope all my classmates go through, or the next class to follow up on that experience,” said Gonzalez-Aranda. “[Program faculty lead] Dr. Perla Martinez is incredibly passionate about Alpine and the small communities that surround it.”
She described the purpose of the Alpine program as a way for students to experience healthcare in a rural setting, identifying the infrastructure and resources available to them, and understanding the strengths of the community around it. Gonzalez-Aranda added that meeting the people that are finding solutions on a day-to-day basis in that setting was incredibly important to understand the need of that demographic for pharmaceutical expertise.
The domestic study away students analyzed national health and explored the variables of health and wellness in society, enabling them to learn about diversity in healthcare through the different experiences within the United States. Gonzalez-Aranda, along with her cohort, participated in scholarly health fairs for high school students in Alpine, collaborating with local physicians to educate others on the pharmacy career path.
“A rural community has different access to a lot of resources that we have been taught to expect, but at the same time there’s so much that those communities have that we don’t, and it is important to never lose track and not generalize the needs of a community,” she said.
The students worked with the local pharmacist at an Alpine hospital to learn about vaccination education and challenges that smaller towns face to find healthcare opportunities near them. Although the experience in Alpine was one of education and community engagement, the group of students also attended the local baseball games and made a daytrip to Big Bend Mountains for hiking and sightseeing, increasing their appreciation for Alpine’s environment, dark skies and its warm community.
Across the Atlantic Ocean, the international Study Away program was taking place in Spain, where students like Hugo Gutierrez had the opportunity to identify social determinants of health and their influences on the community well-being. The program was a pharmacy-focused lesson that joined hands with immersion in the Spanish culture through academic and manufacturing tours, guided tours in Sevilla and Madrid and shadowing pharmacists in hospitals.
The international study away program gives students an opportunity to explore global health and community engagement from a multicultural perspective. “We learned a lot about how Spain keeps their pharmacies stocked, how they view pharmacy-patient relationships and got to learn a lot about how their medical system is run,” said Gutierrez.
He shared his experience being in pharmaceutical settings in Spain and how the group of students were involved in patient wellness protocols in Madrid hospitals. UTEP students spoke with patients and shadowed pharmacists through their rounds, learning about how they view healthcare and pharmacy care in the country. The students were immersed in Spanish culture, art and cuisine and also made scheduled trips to pharmaceutical museums, distribution centers and a manufacturing plant for hair and skin care products, allowing them to view different roles in the Spanish pharmaceutical industry.
“You learn that there is no one way to do things, you get to see the differences in how healthcare works for them and how they make the processes work,” said Gutierrez. “It makes me think of what ideas I can bring back home and how I can share them between both worlds of pharmacy here and there.”
