Abstract
Allergy assessments and penicillin skin testing have emerged as a vital intervention for Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs (ASPs). Investment and involvement in such programs by ASPs, however, are often limited due to resources, time, and personnel constraints. Harnessing an underutilized resource, 4th-year advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) students, allows for expanded ASP involvement and scope of practice. We aim to outline and provide insight on how 4th-year APPE students serve as an asset to an ASP. Through our novel longitudinal rotation experience, APPE students complete penicillin allergy assessments, patient education, and work alongside a clinical pharmacist to refer patients for penicillin skin testing if appropriate. Students also achieve many of the education standards required by the Accreditation Counsel for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) for graduation within the Doctor of Pharmacy degree while developing a strong foundation in antimicrobial stewardship and gaining invaluable knowledge for their future. The addition of APPE pharmacy students to our ASP has also enabled our program to achieve its goals and expand involvement and reach within our facility.
Highlights
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By harnessing an underutilized resource, 4th-year advanced pharmacy experience (APPE) student and rotation, and engineering a new longitudinal rotation structure, we could successfully take on this challenge
When designing our longitudinal rotation experience, we developed a ‘Pharmacy Assistant Alert’ in TheradocTM for patients admitted to our facility with a penicillin allergy
Summary
The national emphasis on antimicrobial stewardship suggests that doctoral pharmacy programs should incorporate antimicrobial stewardship training into the curriculum. Key elements of current education standards focus on developing a knowledge of the foundational sciences, patient-centered care, medication system management, interprofessional collaboration, leadership, and professionalism. These key elements are to be achieved through a mix of didactic curriculum and hands-on experience. As antimicrobial stewardship is not a required part of the current ACPE educational standard for Doctor of Pharmacy candidates, students may graduate pharmacy programs without the foundational knowledge of how to participate in an ASP [5]. For our particular longitudinal rotation, students have the opportunity to complete their responsibilities in either a 30–60 min daily segment or in a 3–4 h weekly segment This rotation style provides the opportunity for APPE students to work on their time management, oral and written communication, and patient education skills. The longitudinal rotation format is preferrable for preceptors, who have competing priorities such as other APPE students, pharmacy residents, administrative responsibilities, and patient care responsibilities
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