Assessing Indigenous Cultural Safety Learning using Modified Reflexive Visual Arts.

Area of Science:

• Pharmacy Education
• Indigenous Health
• Cultural Safety Training

Background:

• Traditional assessment methods struggle to evaluate Indigenous cultural safety learning effectively.
• Existing qualitative methods are limited in large lecture settings.
• There is a need for scalable and practical assessment tools in pharmacy education.

Observation:

• An innovative visual arts-based qualitative assessment was developed and deployed to 223 first-year pharmacy students.
• The assessment utilized pre- and post-term visual art self-reflections and group activities.
• Surveys and focus groups gathered student feedback on the assessment's utility and impact.

Findings:

• The visual arts assessment received highly positive feedback, with 77% recommending it for future students.
• 70% of students found the activity valuable for their learning.
• 80% agreed it stimulated their thinking, and 81% felt it accurately reflected their cross-cultural practice feelings.

Implications:

• Visual arts-based assessments can be effectively scaled for large pharmacy cohorts.
• This method offers a practical and engaging approach to evaluating complex learning outcomes like cultural safety.
• The findings support the integration of arts-based methods in health professions education.