Pharmaceutical Students Research Articles

Cultivation of Pharmaceutical Ethics and Pharmaceutical Skills of Pharmaceutical Students Before Internship

Cultivating students' moral and practical skills is an important teaching content in pharmacy teaching. The internship stage is the last training stage for the basic practical skills of pharmaceutical students. Before the internship, students should understand the rules and regulations of the internship unit, make clear the contents and objectives of the internship, strengthen the basic skills training of four pharmacy majors, which are prescription preparation, drug analysis and inspection and drug maintenance, and develop good pharmaceutical ethics.

An exploration of the mental health and well-being of postgraduates in pharmacy and pharmaceutical science programs

BackgroundPostgraduate students enrolled at colleges and schools of pharmacy are at an increased risk of experiencing difficulties with mental health and well-being; however, there is minimal work exploring mental health and well-being among postgraduates in pharmacy and pharmaceutical science programs. Objectives(1) to explore the current mental health and well-being of pharmacy postgraduates, (2) to identify factors that promote and hinder mental well-being at the individual and organizational levels, and (3) to explore perspectives regarding organizational priorities, resources, and support tools that may improve the mental health and well-being of postgraduates in pharmacy and pharmaceutical science programs. MethodsThis study conducted a cross-sectional survey of postgraduates in pharmacy and pharmaceutical science programs. Surveys were distributed electronically via the American Pharmacists Association’s (APhA) broadcast e-mail system to postgraduate members and through the professional networks of APhA Academy of Pharmaceutical Research and Science (APhA-APRS) Postgraduate Advisory Committee members. The survey had 3 sections: demographics, current mental health and well-being status, and barriers and facilitators to mental health and well-being. Descriptive statistics and frequencies were generated for quantitative survey responses. Open-ended responses were categorized and presented with each question. ResultsFifty-one responses were analyzed. The sample had a mean age of 29.0 ± 6.6 years, included 58.8% women or womxn, and most were in doctoral programs (58.8%) for 2.3 ± 2.7 years in various disciplines. There were 27.5% of respondents categorized as having flourishing mental health and 7.8% with languishing mental health. Factors such as practicing self-care or engaging in hobbies (94.1% for each) were most commonly rated as having a positive impact on well-being, and societal racism and discrimination (66.7%) was most commonly reported as having a negative effect on well-being. Top priorities for postgraduates included work-life balance, career prospects, meaningful relationships, and financial concerns. ConclusionThere are a number of organizational and institutional priorities that may improve pharmacy and pharmaceutical science graduate students’ mental health and well-being.

Human Salivary α-Amylase and Starch Digestion: A Simple and Inexpensive At-Home Laboratory Experience in Times of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The first case of coronavirus disease 2019 in Colombia was detected on March 6, 2020. Subsequently, schools, colleges, and universities were closed on March 26, which forced a massive migration to virtual education and impacted laboratory-based teaching courses. The teaching of biochemistry requires an experimental component that virtual laboratories cannot emulate. To address this concern, the article describes an at-home biochemistry laboratory experience that explores the hydrolysis of starch by α-amylase as a function of enzyme concentration, reaction time, and pH. The general success of the experience was assessed through the quality of information submitted through laboratory reports and feedback from students. A total of 19 laboratory reports were reviewed, and 50 students were surveyed. The analysis indicated that approximately 90% of students expressed favorable opinions about the experience. They understood the objective of the practice, identified the function of each material, and explained the relationship between the obtained results and concepts of enzyme activity presented in theoretical classes. Finally, the study concluded that the at-home laboratory experience is inexpensive and easy to perform outside the traditional laboratory. Furthermore, it enables a genuine practical experience with observations, data collection, analysis, and discussion of results, which meets the expectations for pharmaceutical chemistry students at the Universidad El Bosque in Bogotá, Colombia.

Migraine and tension-type headache among undergraduate medical, dental and pharmaceutical students of University of Aleppo: a cross-sectional study

IntroductionHeadache disorders are among the most common 10 causes of disability worldwide according to the global burden of disease survey 2010. Headache is also wildly common among universities students when...

Evaluating changes in student health, wellbeing and social circumstances before and during COVID-19 pandemic restrictions in Australia.

The impacts of COVID-19 have been felt on a global scale, with associated physical distancing restrictions and economic downturn having flow-on effects for mental health and wellbeing across the community, and for university students in particular. First-year pharmaceutical and medical science students completing a common introductory population health course at an Australian university are routinely surveyed at the beginning of the semester as part of the course. Survey data inform teaching approaches based on understanding the ‘real life’ commitments and health profiles of students, and deidentified data form part of the teaching material. The 2020 student cohort was invited to complete a second follow-up survey during COVID-19 physical distancing restrictions. A total of n = 126 students completed both the initial and follow-up surveys (50.6% response rate), and n = 99 (39.8% of the total cohort) consented for their data to be included in research. There was a non-significant decrease in student employment; however, 22% of all students reported loss of work due to COVID-19. There was a statistically significant decrease in the proportion of students undertaking sufficient levels of physical activity, and a statistically significant increase in reported family stressors associated with loss of employment or an inability to gain employment between March and May 2020. Two-thirds of respondents reported increased stress as an impact of the transition to online learning. Implementation of holistic strategies, incorporating attention to additional factors influencing students’ capacity to engage in study, and which may have long-term impacts across the life of the degree program, should be considered.

ENHANCING PROFESSIONAL COMPENENCE OF PHARMACEUTICAL STUDENTS IN THE ACADEMIC ENGLISH COURSE

The paper presents the ideas on integration of English language academic writing into the training of Mater of Pharmacy students. The academic literature demonstrates a powerful didactic potential for the development of both language and professional competence of students majoring in pharmacy. This fact is evidenced by the empirical study that demonstrates the finding reflected in students’ graduation academic project performance. As a measurement tools we employed assessment rubrics of the graduate project, content analysis and questionnaire on teachers’ feedback. The participants of the study were students from the Pharmacy faculty and teachers of English for Academic Purposes in cooperation with teachers of pharmacy. Together they outlined the criteria for the texts selection. According to the results, students mastered not only academic writing skills, but also the skills of information processing and evaluation, critical thinking, presentation of information and academic integrity. The paper also presents methodological recommendations on academic texts selection for pharmaceutical students and forms of teachingacademic writing to students of non-linguistic specialties. The results of the study allow to draw the conclusion academic writing course will enhance professional competence and reduce students’ misinterpreting of academic language.

The development level of ecological culture among pharmaceutical students in the experimental training conditions in Peter the Great Botanical Garden of the BIN RAS

Environmental education in botanical gardens that deals with the conservation and study of plant biodiversity and environmental protection can be successfully integrated into any level of education. A successful option for such integration can be considered an environmental project launched in 2021 for pharmaceutical students in Peter the Great Botanical Garden of the Komarov Botanical Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences. The paper describes an experiment to identify the nature of the leading motives and the direction of students behavior in environmentally significant situations using the value-normative methodology of G.E. Zalessky. Experimental data allowed us to determine the preliminary typology of the level of environmental culture of pharmaceutical students before the start of the project. The results of the experiment show that the students of Murmansk Medical College developed a slightly higher level of ecological culture than the students of Saint Petersburg Pharmaceutical College (24% and 16%, respectively). However, at the same time 33% of the students of Murmansk Medical College showed a low level of ecological culture, which is almost twice higher than the students of Saint Petersburg Pharmaceutical College (16%). According to the indicator of a high level of ecological culture, pharmaceutical students of both experimental groups approach the results of O.I. Saltykova among schoolchildren and significantly exceed the results of students of other specialties.

Distance learning technologies at the postgraduate stage of professional development of pharmacists

Today, pharmaceutical education has to respond flexibly, dynamically and adequately to social transformations by developing new educational services, teaching technologies and organizing the training process. In response to the demand of the time, postgraduate professional education strives to meet the current needs; a new concept of increasing the effectiveness of education and the professional level of specialists has been formed: lifelong learning is impossible without the use of information and communication technologies. The aim of the work is to identify the features of the organization of the training process of pharmaceutical professionals at the postgraduate stage at Zaporizhzhia State Medical University (ZSMU) and to outline its problematic issues with further identification of possible ways of improvement in the context of continuing professional development (CPD). Materials and methods. The study was grounded on the experience of organizing the training of pharmaceutical interns, students of advanced training cycles at the Faculty of Postgraduate Education of ZSMU for the last 10 years, reporting and other accounting documents, regulations on higher pharmaceutical education at various levels. The methods of analysis and synthesis, grouping, deduction, logic and generalization are used in the work. Results. The postgraduate phase of СPD of pharmaceutical specialists is aimed at improving professional competencies and allows the specialist to maintain or improve the standards of professional activity in accordance with the needs of health care. Training of pharmaceutical specialists at the Faculty of Postgraduate Education is practiced both face-to-face and distantly, using distance learning technologies in a specialized web environment, grounding on modern psychological, pedagogical and information and communication technologies (basic is Microsoft Office 365 and others). This format of education stimulates students to unleash their potential, increase the level of self-organization and self-management, deepens professional competencies by improving the communication component. The management of ZSMU, driven by social responsibility, constantly works on improving the quality of educational services, including those of the postgraduate stage. Conclusions. According to the results of critical analysis of the experience of training pharmaceutical interns and students of advanced training cycles at FPE of ZSMU for the last 10 years, reporting and regulatory documentation, features of the educational process of pharmaceutical specialists at the postgraduate stage are identified, its problematic issues are outlined and ways to solve them in the context of СPD are deteermined.

Le bilan partagé de médication: intérêt de la mise en place d’un nouveau service pharmaceutique dans la detection de problemes lies aux therapeutiques

Using clinical medication reviews, analyze the most pharmaceuticals intervention generating treatments and the problems associated. Analysis of activity reports made by 6th year pharmaceutical students from the University of Bordeaux, class of 2017-2018. 76% of clinical medication review have detected at least one drug related problem in the population of this study. Drug classes that most frequently lead to pharmaceutical interventions are nervous system drugs, alimentary tract and metabolisma drugs and cardiovascular system drugs. The most frequent drug related problems are an unjustified prescription, a contraindication or a non-compliance with the standards of care and posology issues. The most at risk and pharmaceutical intervention generating drugs in this study are the same as described in the international literature. This shows that more precautions must be taken for their use in the elderly. Furthermore, this new pharmaceutical service is an efficient way to detect them.

Emotions and mood swings of pharmacy students in the context of the coronavirus disease of 2019 pandemic

IntroductionThe coronavirus disease of 2019 pandemic has changed university routines affecting student mental health. The aims of this study were to survey aspects related to mental health of pharmaceutical course students considering previous and current contexts. MethodsThe Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21), Impact of Event Scale-Revised, and Brunel Mood Scale were used. DASS-21 was completed pre- and post-pandemic. The validity and reliability of the data were verified. The prevalence (95% CI) of mental health symptoms was estimated. The relationship between the time spent watching/reading the news and mean scales scores was evaluated (Pearson's correlation coefficient). ResultsThe prevalence of depression symptoms in students pre-pandemic was 66.7% (95% CI = 65.3–68.1) and during the pandemic was 81% (95% CI = 79.8–82.2). More than 70% (95% CI = 69.8–72.6) of participants had some psychological impact as a result of the pandemic (mild: 16.7% [95% CI = 15.6–17.8]; moderate: 9.1% [95% CI = 8.2–10]; severe: 45.4% [95% CI = 43.9–46.9]). High values of tension, depressed mood, mental confusion, and anger were observed. There was a significant correlation between the time spent following the news of the pandemic and symptoms of anxiety (r = 0.356; P < .001), stress (r = 0.248; P = .014), hyperarousal (r = 0.322; P ≤ 0.001), and intrusion (r = 0.21; P = .039). ConclusionsStudents are highly vulnerable to depressive symptoms and mood swings due to the pandemic. These findings deserve consideration mainly from mental health professionals, but also from managers and educators.

Design of a Pharmacy Curriculum on Patient Centered Communication Skills.

For delivering high quality pharmaceutical care pharmacy students need to develop the competences for patient centered communication. The aim of the article is to describe how a curriculum on patient centered communication can be designed for a pharmacy program. General educational principles for curriculum design are based on the theories of constructive alignment, self-directed learning and the self-determination theory. Other principles are paying systematic and explicit attention to skills development, learning skills in the context of the pharmacy practice and using a well-balanced system for the assessment of students’ performance. Effective educational methods for teaching communication skills are small group training sessions preferably with (simulation) patients, preceded by lectures or e-learning modules. For (formative or summative) assessment different methods can be used. The Objective Structured Clinical Exam (OSCE) is preferred for summative assessment of communication competence. The principles and educational methods are illustrated with examples from the curriculum of the master Pharmacy program of Utrecht University (The Netherlands). The topics ‘pharmaceutical consultations on prescription medicine,’ ‘pharmaceutical consultations on self-care medication’ and ‘clinical medication reviews’ are described in detail. Finally, lessons learned are shared.

René Kueny (1883-1922), un professeur strasbourgeois d’origine mosellane, à la carrière partagée entre l’Allemagne et la France (1911-1918-1922)

René Kueny, a professor of Strasbourg university native of Moselle department. An universitary career separated between Germany and France (1911-1918-1922) – During the annexation of Alsace and Moselle to german Reich, from 1871 to 1918, the pharmaceutical teaching was delivered in a pharmaceutical institute with only one professor and three assistant professors. Coming from Dieuze, a town formerly in the department of Meurthe and now in the department of Moselle of the Reichsland, René Kueny obtained his diploma and supported his thesis at the pharmaceutical institute settled in Strasbourg and becamed rapidly its main assistant professor. After the 1st World War, in junction with french authorities, he teached chemistry to medical and pharmaceutical students and took part in the setting up of plans about the new university of Strasbourg. In july 1919, he was designated as the temporary professor of analytical chemistry and toxicology of the new school of pharmacy of the town. He was definitively selected on november 27, 1919. But unfortunately, Kueny was attacked by a serious disease as soon as august 1921 and he died in april 1922. This paper is devoted to the description of his life and to an attempt to understand and to explain the reasons of the choice of this expert in vegetable chemistry for the teaching of analytical chemistry and toxicology to pharmacy students.

Proposed changes to BPSA Constitution

The British Pharmaceutical Students’ Association (BPSA) has published a notice of proposed changes to its Constitution. The proposed amendments can be viewed here. The proposed changes will be put to the delegation of the BPSA’s 2021 annual conference, which will be held online between 5–11 April 2021, to be voted upon by the Association’s members.

Teaching pharmaceutical terms and their basic peculiarities

The purpose of this study was to identify whether there was a change in calculated pharmaceutical students’ in adaptation to the learning process, to enable all students to master pharmaceutical terminology within international standards during their training, to organize knowledge of field - specific disciplines and to embrace our commonalities across the profession through consistent use of terminology, most particularly related to the terms “clinical” and “community and to emphasize activities” involving patient contact and multiprofessional health teams so graduates will be able to provide adequate pharmaceutical care. The concept of “clinical pharmacy” has been tended to in an assortment of forums. The American College of Clinical Pharmacy recently published a definition of this term.

Use of Modern Technology When Teaching Chemistry Disciplines to Pharmaceutical Students

Abstract. The introduction of computer technologies into the educational process creates a special information environment that motivates students to learn chemistry disciplines. This facilitates understanding and solving many intelligent tasks, contributes to better understanding and illustrating chemical laws and phenomena. The use of modern information technologies takes students’ independent work to a new level, where both network resources of the university and publicly available Internet resources play a significant role. Responsible use of gadgets transforms them from cheating tools into the powerful source of obtaining necessary information to solve the tasks.

Myths and misconceptions related to CoVID-19 among future health care providers in a private University of Islamabad - An interventional study

Background: Erroneous treatments are hovering all over the internet and social media due to non-existence of the ultimate treatment to CoVID-19. There is a need to disseminate correct knowledge and encourage practices based on evidence, which can successfully prevent the spread of this deadly global pandemic.&#x0D; Objectives: The objective of the study was to explore the myths and misconceptions related to CoVID-19 pandemic in a pre and post health awareness workshop among the future health care professionals in a private medical university in Islamabad, Pakistan.&#x0D; Methodology: A quasi experimental study was carried out in March, 2020 over a period of two weeks at Shifa Tameer-e-Millat University, Islamabad. The participants included undergraduate medical, nursing and pharmaceutical sciences students, making a total sample size of 315. Simple random sampling was used. Data was collected using a self-designed questionnaire exploring the myths and misconceptions. A pre and post health awareness workshop was conducted and questionnaires filled by the participants. Data was analyzed using SPSS 23. Result: A change in the frequency of concepts related to myths and misconceptions was observed following the health awareness session, results were statistically significant using McNemar’s test in context to majority of the myths and misconceptions, p-value &lt; 0.05.&#x0D; Conclusion: Health education has very important role in public health especially in times when the health problem is novel. In such situations, emphasis should be paid on the health education as it can modify the behavior regarding myths and misconceptions which can contribute to decrease in morbidity and mortality.

The implementation and Perception of Pharmacy Students About Blended Learning On Course of Anatomy Human Physiology at The Pandemic Covid-19

Blended learning is a learning model which combines various forms of delivery, teaching model, and learning style, which make it easier for students to receive material that is given by their teachers. These blended learning type of course in this research took advantage of the Kulon of online application portal e-learning developed by the muhammadiyah pharmaceutical high school, as an online learning effort during the covid-19 outbreak. The study aims to learn the application of e-learning Kulon to the subjects of human physiological anatomy of pharmaceutical students and a pharmaceutical student's perception of online learning. This research method employs qualitative descriptive research methods. Research instruments used in questioner and online interviews were given to 40 people of pharmaceutical students who take a course in the anatomy of human physiology. Data collected from observation during college and from student response questionnaires to the application of blended learning. Analysis shows that the Kulon portal system and students are ready for the implementation of online learning. With clear instruction, students can perform good and independent learning. A questionnaire's data analysis showed the students braver to asking and answering questions during learning at the Kulon portal rather than in a manual class can conclude that the application of e-learning, a blended type of learning, using the Kulon's portal e-learning during the covid-19 outbreak was good and effective

Using Tailored Learning Approach to Teach Free-radical Polymerization of Polymer Science in Pharmaceutics Experiment

This article focused on cultivating the critical thinking required by pharmaceutical students in polymer synthesis involved in pharmacy. We modified the previous teaching method in which students simply follow the existing experimental procedures to obtainpredetermined results. In the independent design experiment phase, students use textbooks, laboratory books and related literature to complete the free radical polymerization experiment in 8 credit hours. Under the conditions of [monomer]:[chain transfer agent]:[initiator]=100/1/0.5 and 100/1/1, the monomer converting rate and ln[M]0/[M]tboth showed a linear growth pattern with the increasing of polymerization reaction time, meanwhile the obtained polymer Mw/Mn ranged from 1.04 to 1.14. Our results show that this particular approach to polymer science in pharmaceutics experiment increases students confidence and fosters their ability to innovate.

Test Items Validation in the Context of Education Export

It is necessary to develop special assessment tools for international students, which will comply with the principles of evidence-based education. This is especially important in the context of Russian higher education export. Multiple choice questions (MCQs) are an essential part of the assessment and are suited for assessing the knowledge level of international students. The “Organic chemistry” is a basic course for pharmaceutical students, which is necessary for the understanding of principal subjects. The study objective was to develop a normative-oriented model of the “Organic chemistry” MCQs based examination for international students (the specialty 33.05.01 “Pharmacy”) in accordance with the recommendations of the Association for Medical Education in Europe (AMEE). The previously developed interactive “Organic Chemistry Test Simulator”, created at the Sechenov University, was used as the basis for the examination MSQs bank. It was analyzed by five independent experts, who work as teachers of organic chemistry. The average timing and the cut score were determined by the Angoff method, 90 sec and 64%, respectively. Among analyzed MCQs the 3% were found irrelevant, 22% were recommended for revision and modernization. Valid MSCs (600 items) served as the basis for the creation of extended examination MSQs bank. An algorithm for modeling the “Organic chemistry” MCQs based examination was proposed. The standardized examination test has 30 MSQs of different types. The standardized normative-oriented model of the “Organic chemistry” MCQs based examination for international students (the specialty 33.05.01 “Pharmacy”) was validated in terms of relevance and representativeness, optimized in time and cut score.

Teaching and Learning Computational Drug Design: Student Investigations of 3D Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationships through Web Applications.

The increasing use of information technology in the discovery of new molecular entities encourages the use of modern molecular-modeling tools to help teach important concepts of drug design to chemistry and pharmacy undergraduate students. In particular, statistical models such as quantitative structure–activity relationships (QSAR)—often as its 3D QSAR variant—are commonly used in the development and optimization of a leading compound. We describe how these drug discovery methods can be taught and learned by means of free and open-source web applications, specifically the online platform www.3d-qsar.com. This new suite of web applications has been integrated into a drug design teaching course, one that provides both theoretical and practical perspectives. We include the teaching protocol by which pharmaceutical biotechnology master students at Pharmacy Faculty of Sapienza Rome University are introduced to drug design. Starting with a choice among recent articles describing the potencies of a series of molecules tested against a biological target, each student is expected to build a 3D QSAR ligand-based model from their chosen publication, proceeding as follows: creating the initial data set (Py-MolEdit); generating the global minimum conformations (Py-ConfSearch); proposing a promising mutual alignment (Py-Align); and finally, building, and optimizing a robust 3D QSAR models (Py-CoMFA). These student activities also help validate these new molecular modeling tools, especially for their usability by inexperienced hands. To more fully demonstrate the effectiveness of this protocol and its tools, we include the work performed by four of these students (four of the coauthors), detailing the satisfactory 3D QSAR models they obtained. Such scientifically complete experiences by undergraduates, made possible by the efficiency of the 3D QSAR methodology, provide exposure to computational tools in the same spirit as traditional laboratory exercises. With the obsolescence of the classic Comparative Molecular Field Analysis Sybyl host, the 3dqsar web portal offers one of the few available means of performing this well-established 3D QSAR method.