Pharmacy Department collaborates with external partners

The Pharmacy Department is currently engaged in a collaborative project with external  stakeholders from the Western Cape Government and the City of Cape Town. These stakeholders are mainly Pharmacist Preceptors that work within the communities (hospitals and clinics), assisting Pharmacy students. Preceptors are expected to provide constructive feedback to students whilst they are engaged in their fieldwork at their respective placements.

These Preceptors engage in an online environment, within iKamva – whereby they are able to improve and enhance their professional skills. In order to provide constructive feedback and further develop Preceptors’ skills,  face-to-face workshops were conducted.  However, challenges such as time and capacity for the sessions existed; therefore a blended online environment was designed within iKamva to assist with this.

Lecturer, Renier Coetzee contacted the CIECT team and requested assistance with the design and development of an online blended space. The online environment namely, Pharmacist Preceptor Development Portal was created (a project site within iKamva). This allowed Preceptors to: communicate effectively; establish a framework for student learning; and provide guidelines for the alignment of activities and objectives. Ultimately, the online environment is used to supplement the face-to-face workshops and address the aforementioned challenges.

In addition, as this is a collaborative project, the CIECT team created accounts for Preceptors to access the iKamva platform and engage within the blended environment. This online space is used by the Preceptors to ensure that the students have meaningful learning experiences at their respective facilities (clinics and community centres).

It should be noted that the iKamva platform has a variety of eTools which focuses on communication (synchronous and asynchronous), content distribution and assessment. As is evident through this communication, the iKamva Platform is a flexible system and is not only used for internal staff and students. It also provides a space for collaboration between UWC and external partners.

Please contact the CIECT team to assist with the effective design and development of your online environment and the further explore the possibilities that exist.

Source University of the Western Cape