Abstract:

Introduction:
Service learning (SL) is an educational proposal that integrates community service and academic learning in a single project that allows students to learn while they work on real needs to improve them.
The pharmacy profession is moving towards the promotion of social initiatives, with special focus on vulnerable groups of patients. Social pharmacy initiatives can be very diverse, and it is essential to work in partnership with actors who know the community to identify its needs and to design programs and services truly effective in promoting people's health and wellbeing.
In this scenario, SL projects mean contributing to the improvement of social reality while leading to the development of specific skills related to the different subjects in which they are used, as well as general abilities including teamwork, management skills, problem solving, critical thinking or decision making, among others.

Objective:
The aim of this work is to design a SL project that promotes the training of students in the field of pharmaceutical care and social pharmacy, considering the identified needs in relation to the promotion of health, the rational use of medicines and the improvement of wellbeing. SL will be applied at the University of the Basque Country (Spain), in the development of the Final Degree Projects (FDPs) of the Expert Degree in Practical Pharmaceutical Care, the Degree in Pharmacy and the Double Degree in Pharmacy and Nutrition, during the practicum in community pharmacies or hospital pharmacy services (HPSs).

Methodology:
An innovative teaching project based on the SL has been designed. Channels of communication between the University and Official Associations of Pharmacists (OAPs) and representatives of HPSs have been created to identify the health and welfare needs of society. A work plan for the implementation of the SL methodology to the development of FDPs focused on pharmaceutical services provided from community pharmacies or HPSs to vulnerable populations has been structured.

Results:
The work plan included in the SL project has been divided in the following steps:
1) Planning the calendar of meetings among partners.
2) Identification of the needs of vulnerable populations.
3) Selection of community pharmacies and HPSs for the development of FDPs in the frame of the project.
4) Design of the SL plan for the development of each FDP (definition of the pharmaceutical service, establishment of objectives and stages, and the plan for reflection).
5) Preparation of guides for reflection in the different stages.
6) Diffusion of the FDP reports.
7) Elaboration of questionnaires and rubrics to evaluate the progress of the SL project.

Conclusions:
The application of SL during the FDPs in Pharmacy studies is an opportunity to address the current changes in the pharmaceutical profession by promoting quality of education and reflective and critical citizens. Students' motivation will be stimulated, as well as the interest and ability to analyze the social needs in order to seek solutions and strategies for improvement, thus encouraging further professional development. The transfer of the knowledge generated to the pharmaceutical professionals, to specific groups of patients, and to society in general will be encouraged, promoting equal access to high-quality pharmaceutical care.

Acknowledgements:
Authors thank the UPV/EHU for the funding support: call for Innovation Projects HPB/PIE i3lab (2024-2025).

Keywords:

Service Learning, Final Degree Project, Pharmaceutical Care, Social Pharmacy, Community Pharmacy, Hospital Pharmacy Service.