Pharmacy Education Research Articles

Cardiology pharmacy practice in Saudi Arabia: Historical evolution, current status, and future directions

AbstractThe pharmacy practice in Saudi Arabia has improved over the past two decades. Cardiology pharmacy practice was among the pharmacy practice specialties that witnessed steady improvement. A number of cardiology residency programs have been introduced in recent years, which has led to this steady growth in cardiology pharmacy practice. The current model of cardiology pharmacy practice in major hospitals in Saudi Arabia matches the model used in the United States. Nevertheless, more studies illustrating the value of clinical pharmacists' work with cardiovascular disease management are needed in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia's high prevalence of cardiovascular diseases presents a unique opportunity for cardiovascular clinical pharmacists to illustrate and expand the role they play at the individual and population levels. Moreover, Saudi Arabian cardiology pharmacy practice models need to be described to explain their growing importance. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of cardiology pharmacy practices’ historical evolution and their current status. In addition, we highlighted some challenges that continue to exist despite the development of cardiology pharmacy research, training, and education. Lastly, we discussed several strategies for overcoming these challenges and expanding the integral role of cardiology clinical pharmacists in Saudi Arabia.

Examining pharmacists' anti-doping knowledge and skills in assisting athletes to avoid unintentional use of prohibited substances.

To explore the knowledge and skills of pharmacists practicing in Sydney, Australia, in preventing the use of prohibited medications by athletes. Using a simulated-patient study design, the researcher (an athlete and pharmacy student herself) contacted 100 Sydney pharmacies by telephone requesting advice about taking a salbutamol inhaler (a WADA-prohibited substance with conditional requirements), for exercise-induced asthma, following a set interview protocol. Data were assessed for both clinical and anti-doping advice appropriateness. Appropriate clinical advice was provided by 66% of pharmacists in the study, appropriate anti-doping advice was provided by 68%, and 52% provided appropriate advice across both aspects. Of the respondents, only 11% provided both clinical and anti-doping advice at a comprehensive level. Identification of accurate resources was made by 47% of pharmacists. Whilst most participating pharmacists had the skills to deliver assistance regarding the use of prohibited substances in sports, many lacked core knowledge and resources to enable them to deliver comprehensive care to prevent harm and protect athlete-patients from anti-doping violations. A gap was identified regarding advising/counselling athletes, indicating the need for additional education in sport-related pharmacy. This education would need to be coupled with the incorporation of sport-related pharmacy into current practice guidelines to enable pharmacists to uphold their duty of care and for athletes to benefit from their medicines-related advice.

Student-perceived impact of types of co-curricular activities in a Doctor of Pharmacy programme

Background: Co-curricular (CoC) activity tracking and assessment are required by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) 2016 Standards. The purpose of this manuscript is to evaluate the student-perceived impact of the type of CoC activity chosen. Methods: First-year (P1) through third-year (P3) students in a 4-year Doctor of Pharmacy programme were required to complete two Professional Development Unit (PDUs) activities each semester and two Self-Selected Activities (SSAs) longitudinally through each academic year. PDUs include passive attendance at practitioner presentations, whereas SSAs require more active engagement, such as membership in professional organisations. Students completed surveys for each CoC activity. Survey responses for spring 2020, fall 2020, and spring 2021 were collected through ExamSoft and analysed with PowerBI (2021) and IntellectusStatisticsTM (2019). Results: Students reported positive perceptions for both PDUs and SSAs in the areas of being “different from prior experiences”, “complimenting the curriculum”, “increased my understanding of the profession”, and being of “high quality”. Professional organisation activities were the most commonly selected SSA. Those activities with lower perceived benefit were less clearly aligned with the professional role of a pharmacist, such as intramural sports. Conclusion: Overall, most CoC activities that closely aligned with the profession of pharmacy were perceived to complement the curriculum and enhance students’ understanding of the field. Students reported perceived value in both active and passive CoC activities.

A call for social accountability within pharmacy education: Partnership, competency, and leadership

IntroductionTo address the needs of the community, social accountability (SA) needs to be integrated in health education, especially pharmacy education. This is part one of a two-part commentary that focuses specifically on partnership, competency, and leadership as it relates to SA within pharmacy education. CommentaryHere the need for partnership in SA, competency of SA in pharmacy education, and leadership in SA is discussed. ImplicationsIntegration of SA in pharmacy education can be challenging, however good leadership, a competency framework, and partnership with change agents can assist with this transformation.

A call for social accountability within pharmacy education: Concepts, relevance, and accreditation

IntroductionSocial accountability (SA) is a leap to excellence in health education. While pharmacists are ideally situated in the healthcare setting to practice SA through research, service, and practice, SA is underrepresented in pharmacy education. CommentaryHere the foundational concepts of SA, the relevance to pharmacy education, as well as the accreditation considerations for the implementation of SA are discussed. ImplicationsThere is a need for SA to be implemented in pharmacy education to address health equity, quality, and improve patient health outcomes.

Education Aimed at Patient Safety Management of Chemotherapy Conducted at University Education Sites

The School Education Law was revised in 2006, and the university pharmacy education system and the national pharmacist examination system were changed. In line with the advancement of medical technology and the division of labor, 16 years have passed since the length of undergraduate pharmacy education was extended from 4 to 6 years in order to foster highly qualified pharmacists. During this period, the curriculum for practical training has been revised, and lectures and exercises focused on clinical education have been incorporated to foster pharmacists who can be useful in the medical field. In the area of cancer drug therapy, the university provides students with opportunities to learn about the basic mechanisms of action and side effects of anticancer drugs, but there is little coverage of clinical guidelines and pharmacological management of the latest therapies, such as cancer immunotherapy. Prior to my arrival at Hoshi University, I was involved in clinical work and clinical research at an oncology hospital for 13 years. Since my arrival, I have been exploring the gap between oncology pharmacotherapy and pharmacy education, and have been working to fill it. We have incorporated new curricula, such as exercises in formulation suggestions, lectures to deepen understanding of guidelines and supportive care, and information on the latest cancer drug therapies, such as cancer immunotherapy. This paper outlines the pharmacy education required to produce pharmacists who can practice safe cancer drug therapy.

A Large-scale Multicenter Study of Academic Resilience and Well-being in Pharmacy Education

Objective. Health care students are at particular risk of stress and exposure to adverse events, negatively affecting well-being and performance and leading to increased attrition. Academic resilience has been identified as one factor helping mitigate such negative effects in students. Despite this, there is limited research exploring the topic in pharmacy education.Methods. Using a cross-sectional survey design, students attending three schools of pharmacy in the United Kingdom (N=1161) completed psychometric measures of academic resilience and well-being. Comparative, correlational, and regression analyses were conducted, exploring the relationship between academic resilience and well-being.Results. Academic resilience and well-being were significantly lower in pharmacy students compared to other student populations. Academic resilience was a positive correlate and predictor for well-being. Academic resilience was highest in first-year students, declined over subsequent years of study, and varied by pharmacy school and gender but not ethnicity.Conclusion. Introducing and embedding strategies to enhance academic resilience in pharmacy education may improve well-being and performance and reduce attrition.

The Need for Quality Assessment of Entrustable Professional Activities in Pharmacy Education

Entrustable professional activities (EPAs) are specific tasks that a professional is entrusted to perform autonomously and, together, they define the scope of a profession. There are specific attributes that a task must possess both structurally and conceptually to be classified as an EPA. A high-quality EPA must be an observable, measurable, and professional task that requires training to execute, is fit for entrustment, and can be performed independently. In 2017, the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) defined 15 core EPAs expected of a pharmacy learner upon graduation (Core EPAs). Despite acceptance and implementation by pharmacy schools across the country, the Core EPAs have not been evaluated using an objective assessment tool to ensure that they meet specific EPA quality standards outlined in the literature. This article describes existing objective assessment tools for EPA quality and highlights the importance of ensuring high-quality EPAs in pharmacy education, which would be an important step for the AACP Academic Affairs Committee to take to further develop EPAs for implementation.

Training pharmacy students to deliver bad news using the SPIKES model

Background and purposeDelivery of bad news or negative health information is a complex skill critical to the provision of patient care. While counseling models with this focus exist within other health care professions, their use in pharmacy education is lacking. The purpose of this study is to assess pharmacy students' ability to deliver bad news with the implementation of a counseling model titled SPIKES (Setting, Perception, Invitation, Knowledge, Emotions with Empathy, and Strategy/Summary). Educational activity and settingFirst-year pharmacy students attended a one-hour training on the SPIKES model and completed three simulations with its application. Pre- and post-training surveys were administered to assess confidence, attitudes, and perceptions. Student performance during the simulations was evaluated by teaching assistants (TAs) as well as a self-assessment using the same grading rubric. A paired t-test was used to test for significant mean improvement in competency scores, confidence, attitudes, and perceptions from Week 1 to Week 3. FindingsOne hundred and sixty-seven students were included in the analysis. There was a significant improvement in the student's self-assessment of their performance for each of the SPIKES components and summative scores. For the TA assessment, there was a significant mean improvement in the summative SPIKES score; however, within each component of SPIKES, only the knowledge component showed significant mean improvement. There was also a significant improvement in student confidence in the post-training surveys. SummaryImplementation of the SPIKES protocol in the pharmacy curriculum showed an overall improvement in students' self-assessed performance in delivering bad news.

Lecture Capture Is the New Standard of Practice in Pharmacy Education

The desire and need for remote access to education dramatically increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. As higher education struggles to find its "new normal," pharmacy programs have begun to review changes and approaches to decide which should be continued. This Commentary advocates that the use of lecture capture as an instructional delivery strategy, is no longer just a supplement to learning, but is now a standard of practice in health professions education. Lecture capture creates equity for students by providing additional opportunities to review material. Students may be balancing schoolwork with a job, caring for their children, or fulfilling other obligations. Lecture capture allows students to acquire information at lower levels of Bloom's taxonomy at a time that fits into their schedule, at a pace appropriate for them, and in a method that may better suit their learning needs. Students entering pharmacy school at this time have learned from audio/video media (eg, YouTube, Ted Talks, podcasts) and nontraditional educational competitors (eg, Khan Academy, Coursera, MasterClass). Students have become accustomed to learning via media technology and regularly do so in their everyday lives. Students desire lecture capture as it provides an opportunity to review unclear, complicated, or missed concepts as part of the studying process. Though its use is flexible, like any tool, lecture capture should not be used for all situations. Benefits and disadvantages of lecture capture for students, faculty, and institutions are described herein.

Increasing the PharmD Pipeline, Encouraging Student Success, and Supporting the Underserved Through Pre-Pharmacy Advising

Academic advising for pre-pharmacy students lacks best practice recommendations specific to the pharmacy profession. When considering contemporary challenges in pharmacy education, adoption of high-quality advising approaches will likely have a positive influence on professional school enrollment, general student success, and educational access for the traditionally underserved. As pre-health academic advising is an important component of student professional development, standardizing best-practice strategies in and around pharmacy programs will "[strengthen] the pharmacy pipeline" and "[raise] the profile of pharmacy" as stated in the 2021-2024 Strategic Plan Priorities, Goals and Objectives issued by the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP). An investment is needed to codify such practices in pre-pharmacy advising and scale these techniques across pharmacy schools positioned to serve undergraduates.

Ensuring Doctor of Pharmacy Graduates Have the Essential Competencies for Innovative Practice

As the pharmacy profession continues to evolve from product oriented to patient centered, pharmacy programs have been transitioning from a traditional pharmacy curriculum to a competency-based education pedagogy. Competency-based education has been developed to instill the required clinical competencies in graduates to better meet the contemporary role of pharmacists in accordance with the latest scientific knowledge and evidence-based practices in an ever-evolving health care landscape. While these ideas have helped shape the new Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) Standards and Center for the Advancement of Pharmacy Education (CAPE) Educational Outcome domains, recent publications have indicated that it is integral for these Standards to include public health emergency preparedness and response. Updated Standards and Educational Outcomes must be integrated longitudinally in pharmacy curricula to ensure that graduates will be practice-ready health care professionals. This commentary highlights the strategic use of workforce development of population health based on two perspectives: emergency preparedness and response and digital health.

Gaps and Opportunities for Faculty Workload Policies in Pharmacy and Health Professions Education

Faculty workload is difficult to delineate and quantify equitably because of the various factors and diverse roles that define faculty positions. This is especially true in health professions education, including pharmacy. Nonetheless, ensuring fair and transparent distribution of faculty workload is necessary for equity and engagement of the faculty workforce. While it is impossible to develop a uniform policy for all faculty, there can be a guide for how workload is developed and measured, especially for promotion or awarding of tenure, focusing on equity and transparency. Developing clear definitions of workload, setting mutually agreed expectations, and sharing transparent workload assignments and distribution within the institution may be needed. It is imperative to discuss an optimal policy for equitable and transparent workload in each institution and in academic pharmacy as a whole; a lack of this effort can create undue hardship for faculty, decrease productivity, potentially worsen faculty morale, and ultimately impair faculty retention.

Online Delivery of the Individualized Reduction of Falls Intervention for Persons With Multiple Sclerosis Who Use a Wheelchair or Scooter Full-time: A Pilot Study.

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who use a wheelchair or scooter full-time fall frequently; however, fall prevention programming that meets the unique needs of this population is limited. This study examined the preliminary efficacy of a group-based online fall prevention and management intervention designed specifically for people with MS. This pre/post intervention, mixed-methods study included people with MS who used a wheelchair or scooter full-time, experienced at least 1 fall within the past year, and transferred independently or with minimal or moderate assistance. Participants engaged in a 6-week, online, individualized, multicomponent fall prevention and management intervention: Individualized Reduction of Falls-Online (iROLL-O). No statistically significant change in fall incidence occurred after iROLL-O. However, fear of falling significantly decreased (P < .01) and knowledge related to fall management (P = .04) and fall prevention and management (P = .03) significantly improved. Qualitative results indicated that participants valued the opportunity for peer learning and iROLL-O's attention to diverse influences on fall risk. This study is the first to examine the preliminary efficacy of an online fall prevention and management intervention for people with MS who use a wheelchair or scooter full-time. iROLL-O has promise, and participants found it valuable. Further efforts are needed to retain iROLL-O participants with lower confidence and functional mobility, and more research is needed to investigate the impact of the intervention on key outcomes over time.

ATA2023Annual Conference &amp; ExpoMarch 4–6, 2023San Antonio, Texas

ATA2023Annual Conference &amp; ExpoMarch 4–6, 2023San Antonio, Texas

Development and Assessment of Targeted, Live, and Interactive Continuing Pharmacy Education Workshops in Dementia Care for North Dakota Pharmacists.

Background With the growing US aging population, need for a health care workforce able to provide dementia care will increase. Objective To develop, deliver, and assess interactive live workshops for licensed North Dakota pharmacists in dementia care. Methods Prospective interventional study of impact of free-of-charge, interactive, five-hour workshops for pharmacists providing advanced training in Alzheimer's disease, vascular and Parkinson's disease dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies, and common reversible causes of cognitive impairment. The workshop was offered three times across two different locations in ND: Fargo and Bismarck. Online pre- and postworkshop questionnaires were administered to collect demographics, attendance rationale, perceived ability to provide dementia care, and workshop quality/satisfaction. A 16-item assessment instrument/ test (1 point/item) was developed to assess pre- and postworkshop competency in dementia-related care (ie, knowledge, comprehension, application, and analysis). Descriptive statistics and paired t-test were performed using Stata 10.1. Results Sixty-nine pharmacists were trained and completed the competency test assessments; 95.7% ND pharmacists completed pre-and postworkshop questionnaires. The overall competency test scores improved from 5.7 ± 2.2 to 13.0 ± 2.8 (P < 0.001) and individual scores for each disease/problem also improved significantly (P < 0.001). Increases corresponded with increased self-reported perceived ability to provide dementia care; 95.4 to 100% of participants agreed/strongly agreed learning needs were met, teaching was effective, were satisfied with content and educational material usefulness, and would recommend workshop. Conclusion Workshop had measurable, immediate benefit on knowledge and ability to apply learned information. Structured, interactive workshops are valuable for improving pharmacists' competency in dementia care.

Development and curricular alignment of a pharmacy travel medicine elective

Background and purposeDescribe the design, implementation, and value of a travel medicine pharmacy elective. Students translated skills from rotations and practice environments addressing travel health-related needs. Content and educational outcomes align with the Center for the Advancement of Pharmacy Education, American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, and Pharmacists' Patient Care Process core components of student learning and assessment. Educational activity and settingA two-credit travel medicine elective included live and pre-recorded lectures, self-learning modules, peer critiques, and patient engagement. Students shadowed in a travel health clinic interacting with patients to prepare a formal travel care plan unique to the patient's history and travel destination. Pre- and post-course surveys, quizzes, progressive assignments, and course evaluations provided the framework for curricular enhancement. FindingsA cohort of 32 third-year students provided evidence of successful curricular integration. Pre-course surveys demonstrated 87% of students self-scored low knowledge and ability to apply travel health services. Ninety percent of post-course surveys reported high levels of knowledge and ability. High perceived value was evident in course evaluations with some student intent to pursue credentialing. SummaryCommunity practice affords increased opportunities to identify patients in need of travel medicine services. The unique approach and design supported successful integration of a travel medicine elective in the University of South Florida Taneja College of Pharmacy curriculum. Upon elective completion, students were prepared to educate internationally traveling patients to safely self-manage chronic health conditions, reduce potential health risks and harm exposures during travel, and monitor health changes upon return.

Towards defining and supporting pharmacists' professional role associated with traditional and complementary medicines - A systematic literature review.

A review conducted in 2015 reported community pharmacists are willing to adopt a professional role in counselling consumers about the appropriate and safe use of traditional and complementary medicines (T&CM) but faced multiple barriers in doing so; including the role being poorly defined. This current review aimed to update and extend these findings, by identifying studies published since 2015 that reported on pharmacists across any setting. Eligible studies published between January 01, 2016 and December 31, 2021 were identified across six databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, EMBASE, ScienceDirect and MEDLINE). A grounded theory approach was used to thematically synthesize the data extracted. A total 64 studies representing pharmacists across 30 countries were included for review. Study designs varied including cross-sectional surveys (n=36), qualitative studies (n=14), and pseudo-patient studies (n=3). Eight studies reported on practice and/or bioethical responsibilities and 19 studies reported on factors that would enable pharmacists to fulfill these responsibilities, while 37 studies reported about both. These findings indicate research about pharmacists' responsibilities associated with T&CM is evolving from gap analysis towards research that is proactive in advocating for change in multiple areas. These findings can be used to inform a consensus discussion among pharmacists and key stakeholders regarding a set of professional responsibilities that would serve in the development of: a clearly defined role and associated practice standards, and competency requirements that inform educational learning objectives for inclusion in undergraduate, post-graduate and continuing professional pharmacy education.

A Survey of Pharmacy Students' Satisfaction with a Basic Life Support Course and an Exploration of Factors Related to Awareness Change Before and After the Course.

The model core curriculum for pharmacy education and professional standards for pharmacists established by the Japan Pharmaceutical Association aim to inculcate knowledge and skills on basic life support (BLS) and ensure that pharmacy students are well equipped with knowledge on BLS. In this study, pharmacy students were enrolled in the PUSH course, a BLS training course for citizens, and a questionnaire survey was conducted before and after the course to evaluate the change in students awareness about BLS and overall satisfaction with the course. The participants enrolled for the course were fourth-year students from the School of Pharmacy, Hyogo Medical University, who consented to participate in the study. A total of ninety-nine participants were included in this study. After the completion of the course, the participants displayed greater confidence, preparedness, and willingness to teach BLS, and decreased anxiety about BLS. Factor analysis revealed four factors based on the questionnaire answers before the course, while three factors were extracted based on the answers after the course. Lack of confidence in BLS, extracted as one of the factors before the course was inverted and gave rise to a new factor. Some participants displayed increased awareness about BLS after completion of the PUSH course. Hierarchical cluster analysis before and after the course divided respondents into three groups. The results showed that lesser number of participants displayed anxiety over BLS after the course. The results also indicated high levels of satisfaction among the participants after the completion of the PUSH course.

Trends in the Number of Authors and Institutions in Papers Published in AJPE 2015-2019

Objective. To investigate the number of authors and unique institutions per paper published in the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education (AJPE) in 2015 through 2019, and to examine the number of authors and unique institutions for papers that were nominated for the Rufus A. Lyman Award in the same period.Methods. Articles published in AJPE from 2015 through 2019 were reviewed. Data collected for each article included article type, number of authors, and number of institutions.Results. Of the 811 articles published in AJPE during this period, the number of authors increased significantly from a mean (SD) of 3.5 (1.8) to 4.5 (2.2). The number of unique institutions also increased significantly from 1.7 (1.1) to 2.4 (1.8).Conclusion. There is a trend toward a greater number of authors and unique institutions for the publications in one pharmacy education journal. Explanations for this trend may include pressure to publish, increased research complexity, and expanded interprofessional collaboration.