CEDARVILLE — Cross-cultural missions are a key component to all academic programs at Cedarville University. It is especially important to future pharmacists studying in Cedarville’s pharmacy program, where participation is 100 percent.

While cross-cultural engagement is a requirement, Dr. Marc Sweeney, dean of the school of pharmacy, believes this is a unique element of Cedarville’s program.

“We believe it is part of our mission for students to have cross-cultural missions experiences,” Sweeney said.

Pharmacy students have traveled to Honduras, India, Canada, Swaziland, Haiti, El Salvador, Kenya, the Amazon, and the Dominican Republic as well as urban areas in the United States. Many of these trips have taken place during school breaks or summer.

“We expect our students to focus on the needs of others,” said Dr. Jeff Bates, associate dean of pharmacy. “Going and serving, whether that is our neighbors down the street in Xenia, or if it is half a globe away, it is the same thing.”

These experiences allow students to apply what they learn in the classroom to patients with various backgrounds. They are intentionally placed in settings outside their comfort zone, and expected to apply their medical knowledge as situations arise. This broadens their ability to deal with situations appropriately as they enter their professional careers.

After returning from a cross-cultural trip, pharmacy students discuss what they learned from the experience, as well as how they can apply that to interactions with patients in the pharmacy setting.