Academic Pharmacy Research Articles

Can Source Triangulation Be Used to Overcome Limitations of Self-Assessments? Assessing Educational Needs and Professional Competence of Pharmacists Practicing in Qatar.

Continuing professional development activities should be designed to meet the identified personal goals of the learner. This article aims to explore the self-perceived competency levels and the professional educational needs of pharmacists in Qatar and to compare these with observations of pharmacy students undergoing experiential training in pharmacies (students) and pharmacy academics, directors, and managers (managers). Three questionnaires were developed and administered to practicing pharmacists, undergraduate pharmacy students who have performed structured experiential training rotations in multiple pharmacy outlets in Qatar and pharmacy managers. The questionnaires used items extracted from the National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities (NAPRA) Professional competencies for Canadian pharmacists at entry to practice and measured self- and observed pharmacists' competency and satisfaction with competency level. Training and educational needs were similar between the pharmacists and observers, although there was trend for pharmacists to choose more fact-intensive topics compared with observers whose preferences were toward practice areas. There was no association between the competency level of pharmacists as perceived by observers and as self-assessed by pharmacists (P ≤ .05). Pharmacists' self-assessed competency level was consistently higher than that reported by students (P ≤ .05). The results suggest that the use of traditional triangulation might not be sufficient to articulate the professional needs and competencies of practicing pharmacists as part of a strategy to build continuing professional development programs. Pharmacists might have a limited ability to accurately self-assess, and observer assessments might be significantly different from self-assessments which present a dilemma on which assessment to consider closer to reality. The processes currently used to evaluate competence may need to be enhanced through the use of well-designed rubrics or other strategies to empower and to better inform respondents and subsequently improve their ability to self-assess their competencies.

Attitudes to proposed assessment of pharmacy skills in Korean pharmacist licensure examination.

PurposeThe survey aimed to obtain opinions about a proposed implementation of pharmacy skills assessment in Korean pharmacist licensure examination (KPLE).MethodsA 16-question survey was distributed electronically to 2,738 people including 570 pharmacy professors of 35 pharmacy schools, 550 preceptors from 865 practice sites and 1,618 students who graduated in 2015. The survey solicited responses concerning the adequacy of the current KPLE in assessing pharmacy knowledge/skills/attitudes, deficiencies of pharmacy skills testing in assessing the professional competencies necessary for pharmacists, plans for pharmacy skills tests in the current KPLE, and subject areas of pharmacy practice.ResultsA total of 466 surveys were returned. The current exam is not adequate for assessing skills and attitudes according to 42%–48% of respondents. Sixty percent felt that skills test is necessary to assess qualifications and professional competencies. Almost two-thirds of participants stated that testing should be implemented within 5 years. More than 60% agreed that candidates should be graduates and that written and skills test scores can be combined for pass-fail decisions. About 70% of respondents felt that the test should be less than 2 hours in duration. Over half of the respondents thought that the assessor should be a pharmacy faculty member with at least 5 years of clinical experience. Up to 70% stated that activities related to patient care were appropriate and practical for the scope of skills test.ConclusionPharmacy skills assessment was supported by the majority of respondents.

Does Competency-Based Education Have a Role in Academic Pharmacy in the United States?

Competency-based Education (CBE) is an educational model that allows students to learn and demonstrate their abilities at their own pace. CBE is growing in popularity in undergraduate educational programs and its role in pharmacy education in the United States (US) is under review. In comparison, medical education is utilizing competency-based approaches (such as competencies and Entrustable Professional Activities) to ensure that students possess the required knowledge, skills, and attitudes prior to graduation or program completion. The concept of competency-based approaches is growing in use in pharmacy education in the US, but the future related to aspects of this concept (e.g., mandatory Entrustable Professional Activities) is not certain. A review of pharmacy education’s evolution in the US and a comparison of competency-related terms offers insight into the future use of competency-based approaches and CBE in pharmacy education in the US through the lens of benefits and challenges.

The Influence of an Academic Pharmacy Mentorship Program on Mentees’ Commitment to Pursue an Academic Career

The objective of this study was to determine the influence of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) Walmart Scholars Program on mentees' attitudes towards and decision to pursue a career in academia. Upon completion of the AACP Walmart Scholars Program, wherein mentor-mentee pairs attend the AACP Annual Meeting to learn about academic pharmacy careers, mentees wrote essays evaluating the program. Their views on academic pharmacy careers were analyzed for themes in the evaluations. Of the mentees who addressed the impact of the program on their perspectives on a career in academic pharmacy, over half stated the program positively influenced pursuit of such a career. This reinforces the importance of mentorship for those interested in or new to academic pharmacy.

Interprofessional Curbside Consults to Develop Team Communication and Improve Student Achievement of Learning Outcomes

Objective. To design and implement a series of activities focused on developing interprofessional communication skills and to assess the impact of the activities on students' attitudes and achievement of educational goals. Design. Prior to the first pharmacy practice skills laboratory session, pharmacy students listened to a classroom lecture about team communication and viewed short videos describing the roles, responsibilities, and usual work environments of four types of health care professionals. In each of four subsequent laboratory sessions, students interacted with a different standardized health care professional role-played by a pharmacy faculty member who asked them a medication-related question. Students responded in verbal and written formats. Assessment. Student performance was assessed with a three-part rubric. The impact of the exercise was assessed by conducting pre- and post-intervention surveys and analyzing students' performance on relevant Center for the Advancement of Pharmacy Education (CAPE) outcomes. Survey results showed improvement in student attitudes related to team-delivered care. Students' performance on the problem solver and collaborator CAPE outcomes improved, while performance on the educator outcome worsened. Conclusions. The addition of an interprofessional communication activity with standardized health care professionals provided the opportunity for students to develop skills related to team communication. Students felt the activity was valuable and realistic; however, analysis of outcome achievement from the exercise revealed a need for more exposure to team communication skills.

An Elective Course to Foster Interest in Academic Pharmacy Career Opportunities

Objective. To create an elective course to foster student interest in pursuing a career in academic pharmacy. Design. The course met for two hours once weekly throughout the semester and required student attendance at the AACP Annual Meeting. The course included didactic instruction, a student-designed individual teaching seminar, design and implementation of a research project for presentation at a national meeting, and drafting of a manuscript suitable for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. Assessment. Student evaluations revealed strong agreement that the course met the stated objectives. Follow-up correspondence indicated that almost 70% were likely to pursue an academic career and felt the course gave them advantages over their peers in this regard. Conclusion. The outcomes from this elective course and follow-up surveys confirmed that the majority of participants were planning on pursuing an academic pharmacy career and felt the course increased their readiness to do so.

Why Every Aspect of an Academic Pharmacy Career Should Be Viewed Through the Lens of Scholarship

Attending the 2016 annual meeting of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) in Anaheim, California, one could not help but notice that the general underlying theme in almost every activity and presentation was scholarship. Indeed, all of the four categories,[1][1] scholarship of

The use of Twitter to facilitate engagement and reflection in a constructionist learning environment

ObjectivesDetermine students' self-reported use of Twitter in a health systems course and gauge their perceptions of its value and utility for self-guided supplementation of course material, and evaluate the quality of students' reflections from information they found on Twitter. MethodsStudents in a health systems course create a Twitter account to remain abreast of current developments in pharmacy and health systems. They were afforded the autonomy to follow organizations/individuals they chose and write reflective mini-papers on selected tweets from their Twitter feed prior to each course session. A self-administered survey solicited students' favor toward various aspects of the Twitter reflection assignment. An examination of students' reflections as the course progressed was also undertaken. ResultsApproximately 2/3 of the students enrolled in the course responded to the survey. Student perceptions of the Twitter assignment were quite favorable, with highest favor related to facets regarding the construction of their own learning and continuation of engagement throughout the course. Responses to open-ended questions corroborated students’ perceptions of their own learning, as did the content and quality of their reflections during progression of the course. ConclusionsThe course design reinforced previous claims outside of pharmacy that Twitter can be a useful tool to reinforce or create new learning paradigms, but especially under the auspices of established theory, such as a constructivist environment employing constructionism pedagogy. A course like health systems in programs of academic pharmacy might especially benefit from use of Twitter and such course design.

Diversity of Pharmacy Faculty Members between UK and US

Abstract: Objective: The aim of the research was to characterize the diversity of current pharmacy faculty members in the US and UK. Methods: An online self-completion survey was designed and sent to the faculty members from the top 40 accredited pharmacy institutions in USA and top 20 in the UK. Data were analyzed to identify differences between pharmacy faculty members in both regions. Results: The response rate was 9.4% (411/4355). In both UK and US, more female faculty members stand at junior academic positions (e.g. assistant professor/associate professor in US or lecturer/senior lecturer in UK), while male professors were significant more in senior academic level (e.g. professor in US or reader/professor in UK). The results indicated the obstacles for female faculty members to pursue the further professional progression in pharmacy academics. Caucasians accounted for high proposition of faculty members at UK (95.4%) and US (89.6%), while there were very few Hispanic or African/Caribbean-descent faculty members in both countries. Thus, there was significant underrepresentation of minority in pharmacy faculty in both countries. Among the pharmacy discipline, pharmacy practice comprised over half of respondents (53% in UK and 58% in US), while science-related subjects (e.g. medicinal chemistry, pharmaceutics and pharmacology) took the rest positions. The results showed that the training models of pharmacy education in UK and US emphasized on clinical pharmacy and practice. Conclusion: Our research provided a comparative view of the professional development to current pharmacy faculty members in the US and UK. It is also an effective reference to the administrators in pharmacy school. Keywords: Diversity, Pharmacy faculty, Comparison, US, UK.

Academic Pharmacy: Where is Our Influence?

Academic Pharmacy: Where is Our Influence?

Diretrizes curriculares da farmácia versus ENADE: a ótica docente

O Exame Nacional de Desempenho de Estudantes (ENADE) integra o Sistema Nacional de Avaliação da Educação Superior (SINAES) como um componente curricular obrigatório nos cursos de graduação brasileiros. O objetivo deste trabalho foi analisar a opinião dos professores sobre as questões do ENADE para o curso de Farmácia em 2010, analisando se eram condizentes com as orientações preconizadas pelas Diretrizes Curriculares Nacionais dos cursos de Farmácia (DCNF). Através do Qualtrics Survey Software, foram elaborados quatro questionários, enviados por meio digital a professores alocados a 18 cursos de Farmácia das instituições públicas e privadas do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul (RS). No total, 131 docentes avaliaram a prova do ENADE 2010. Na opinião dos professores a adequação das questões Específicas alcançou grau médio 7,78±2,22, sendo percebido que 63% das questões eram relacionadas à capacidade de exercício em fármacos e medicamentos, 45,5% a habilidade crítico-reflexiva e 45,3% atuação interdisciplinar. Já as questões de Formação Geral alcançaram nota média 5,16±2,87, auxiliando na compreensão da realidade social, cultural e econômica do meio no qual o profissional estivesse inserido 42,8%, com caráter crítico-reflexivo 32,2%, humanista 12,2% e ético 10,6%. Verificou-se que na opinião dos professores a prova de Farmácia do ENADE 2010 contempla os princípios definidos pelas DNCF, entretanto apresenta uma distribuição assimétrica dos aspectos exigidos à formação de um profissional farmacêutico generalista.

Professional Identity Formation in an Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience Emphasizing Self-Authorship

Objective. To examine the extent to which reflective essays written by graduating pharmacy students revealed professional identity formation and self-authorship development. Design. Following a six-week advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) grounded in Baxter-Magolda's Learning Partnerships Model of self-authorship development, students completed a culminating reflective essay on their rotation experiences and professional identity formation. Assessment. Thematic and categorical analysis of 41 de-identified essays revealed nine themes and evidence of all Baxter-Magolda's domains and phases of self-authorship. Analysis also suggested relationships between self-authorship and pharmacist professional identity formation. Conclusion. Results suggest that purposeful structuring of learning experiences can facilitate professional identity formation. Further, Baxter-Magolda's framework for self-authorship and use of the Learning Partnership Model seem to align well with pharmacist professional identify formation. Results of this study could be used by pharmacy faculty members when considering how to fill gaps in professional identity formation in future course and curriculum development.

Priming the Preceptor Pipeline: Collaboration, Resources, and Recognition

Special Acknowledgments: * Jeffrey Ekoma, Policy and Professional Affairs Manager, AACP: for serving as a note-taker for the Professional Affairs Committee focus groups held during the 2016 American Pharmacists Association; * Stephanie Fouch, Senior Consultant Outreach and Communications, AACP: for serving as the moderator for the Professional Affairs Committee focus groups held during the 2016 American Pharmacists Association; * The participants of the two Professional Affairs Committee focus groups (preceptors and pharmacy employers) held during the 2016 American Pharmacists Association: for their attendance, engagement, and passion for precepting future pharmacists; and * The following national pharmacy organizations that responded to the 2016 Professional Affairs Committee request for information regarding their efforts regarding preceptor training and development: American College of Apothecaries (ACA), American Society for Pharmacy Law (ASPL), Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP), Board of Pharmacy Specialties (BPS), College of Psychiatric and Neurologic Pharmacists (CPNP), Hematology-Oncology Pharmacy Association (HOPA), and two state pharmacy member associations (New Mexico and Pennsylvania) from the National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations (NASPA). Background and Charges According to the Bylaws of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP), the Professional Affairs Committee is to study issues associated with the professional practice as they relate to pharmaceutical education, and to establish and improve working relationships with all other organizations in the field of health affairs. The Committee is also encouraged to address related agenda items relevant to its Bylaws charge and to identify issues for consideration by subsequent committees, task forces, commissions, or other groups. President Cynthia Boyle established the theme of Capitalizing on Foundations of Citizenship for the 2015-2016 standing committees. (1) According to President Boyle, as the academy prepares our nation's future pharmacists and scholars, the academy is leveraging all of the stakeholders who invest in academic pharmacy. (1) A key group of stakeholders in our academy are pharmacy preceptors. Our preceptors are one group of citizens that bears responsibility for a significant portion of the preparation of practice-ready graduates. Estimated to be approximately 30,000 pharmacists strong, most accept responsibility for precepting Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences (APPE) [and often Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience (IPPEs) as well] with little or no direct compensation. The 2015-16 Professional Affairs Committee is charged to: (1) Study the current relationship between the colleges/schools of pharmacy, our volunteer preceptors, and the organizations that employ them. The focus will be defining the needs of this population of practitioners for continuing professional development, recognition and support to assure that they are prepared to assume increasing responsibility for assuring that Doctor of Pharmacy graduates are both practice--and team-ready; and (2) Assess the unique demands of precepting in an interprofessional care environment. Members of the 2016 PAC include faculty representing multiple disciplines from various schools/colleges of pharmacy and professional staff representation from the American Pharmacists Association (APhA), the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP), the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) and the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS). Prior to any in-person meetings of the committee, pertinent background information and resource materials were distributed. The professional staff representatives met on September 21, 2015 to discuss their programs, initiatives and services involving preceptors and their development, as well as the role(s) that national pharmacy organizations can have with preceptors and their employers. …

Report of the 2014-2016 AACP Research and Graduate Affairs Committee

INTRODUCTION The Research and Graduate Affairs Committee (RGAC) was charged in 2014-2015 with an important and timely charge from President Patricia Chase. The members of the RGAC were assigned to develop a report recommending a competency-based yet practical model of graduate education and post-graduate education (including postdoctoral training both basic and clinical) applicable to the diversity of programs offered by the colleges and schools of pharmacy. Examination of accessibility, affordability and accountability of graduate and research education has been addressed by this talented and committed group of dedicated committee members. Under the leadership of Natalie Eddington (Chair), the RGAC received an extended appointment and all members agreed to continue their service. This group was charged by President Cynthia Boyle to complete the original charges, advise the new chief science officer (Joan Lakoski), participate in AACP strategic planning to develop future goals for research and graduate education, and provide evaluation and feedback on the newly formed Academic Research Fellows Program (review of the initial two cohorts; 2013-2014 and 2014-2015). The RGAC met twice in person and by conference calls throughout the duration of the appointment. BAKCGROUND: GRADUATE EDUCATION IN ACADEMIC PHARMACY Review and discussion of competency-based models of graduate education began in the fall of 2014 and has continued throughout the second year of the RGAC activities. Following an intense yet productive discussion at the November 2015 committee meeting, the decision was made to collect additional information on the current issues facing graduate education in the colleges and schools of pharmacy via two formats, including (1) focus group discussions and (2) a customized survey to the colleges and schools of pharmacy. Both the focus groups and survey were conducted to address the gaps in current knowledge of the status of graduate education, including postdoctoral training, in the academic pharmacy community; any duplication of information from existing AACP surveys was carefully avoided. Overall, the goal of this data collection effort was to provide the most current snapshot possible of the graduate education in the colleges and schools of pharmacy to inform the work of the RGAC and the pharmacy schools engaged in training the next generation of researchers. Graduate Education Focus Group Discussions The focus groups were held during the AACP Interim Meeting in February 2016 (Tampa, FL). Due to the substantial interest in this topic, three separate focus groups were held with the same series of questions presented to each group (see Appendix 1 for AACP 2016 Research and Graduate Affairs Focus Group Questions). A total of 36 individuals participated in three focus group discussions and representing 36 colleges and schools of pharmacy. The focus group questions were designed to provide a qualitative picture of the opportunities and challenges facing the participants, most of whom had responsibilities for oversight and stewardship of graduate (predoctoral) and postdoctoral education that span training for research in basic, clinical and translational settings. The RGAC is most grateful to the individuals who took time to participate in a focus group as these discussions were most helpful in providing important illustrations of the challenges facing each of the participants. Graduate and Postdoctoral Education Survey The RGAC also developed a series of questions to gain quantitative data on the current status of graduate and postdoctoral education and training; all colleges and schools of pharmacy were invited to participate in this web-based survey conducted in March 2016. The survey questions were carefully developed by the RGAC on the themes of accessibility, affordability and accountability (see Appendix 2 for AACP 2016 Research and Graduate Affairs Survey Questions). …

Demystifying Advocacy: Moving Faculty and Students Toward Citizen Engagement

INTRODUCTION According to the Bylaws of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP), the Advocacy Committee: advise the Board of Directors on the formation of positions on matters of public policy and on strategies to advance those positions to the public and private sectors on behalf of academic pharmacy. PRESIDENTIAL CHARGE President Cynthia J. Boyle presented the committee with the following charge: Building on advocacy tools from previous committee work, the Advocacy Committee will consider how to empower us as citizens--within our institutions, communities, and governments. Can we take our needs to actions by 1) preparing to answer 'why now?' 2) offering a plan, and 3) characterizing benefits or 'what is in it for them'? This skill set is necessary for student pharmacists, but also for our faculty and professional staff members. Too often Legislative Day has become the equivalent of 'dropping off the kids at the mall' without the sufficient support and mentoring of faculty and practitioners. The 2015-16 Advocacy Committee will: 1. Identify and recognize citizen exemplars among faculty, practicing pharmacists, and students. 2. Identify the key characteristics and development opportunities to expand and empower the pool of pharmacy education advocates. PROCESS AACP members are annually requested to submit their interest in serving on AACP governance and standing committees. Staff, along with the President, determine the best fit of those interested in the Advocacy Committee with the given charge. Selected participants received a follow-up email asking them to verify both their interest and their expertise relative to the charge. Staff also reviewed the member profile of the interested participant for inclusion of content-expertise. In November 2015, the selected committee members met during a face-to-face meeting in Toronto, Canada. During this meeting the Chair and staff reviewed the committee charge and led the group through in a wide-ranging discussion of that charge. Using a draft report outline, committee members determined who would be responsible for specific portions of the report, what that portion would include, and a timeline for committee work. The committee workgroups worked toward completion of their specified report portions sharing information and resources via email, google docs and phone calls. The committee, as a whole, held monthly conference calls to provide status updates, seek input from the entire group related to challenges, and review and modify accountabilities as needed. The outcome is a final committee report published in the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, the highlights of which are presented at the AACP 2016 annual meeting. The committee discussed the work of recent Advocacy Committees in applying concepts and frameworks from implementation science to improve AACP's advocacy efforts. These advocacy efforts recognize that public policy is an intervention and greater utility can be realized if public policy is evidence-based. As individuals and institutions increase the use of evidence-based interventions, these concepts and frameworks allow for the identification and implementation of successful interventions (1,2). A CONSISTENT APPROACH TO ADVOCACY Based on the presidential charge, the committee identified the characteristics of an engaged citizen, utilizing the following elements of the previously described approach: 1. Placing the issue in context- Committee members reviewed a variety of documents to better understand and appreciate the role of students and faculty as engaged citizens. 2. Defining the issues- To evaluate the progress of the academy, the committee discussed the need to find an existing definition for or define the term citizen engagement. This essential first step would provide the committee and readers with a clear statement of what it is we are attempting to address. …

Academic Freedom Should Be Redefined: Point and Counterpoint

As part of the 2014-15 Academic Leadership Fellows Program, the cohort teams presented debates on topics relevant to academic pharmacy at a public forum during the 2015 American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Interim Meeting. The topic of one of the debates was "Academic Freedom Should Be Redefined." The "point" of the debate focused on important issues such as the fundamental definition of academic freedom as it was written in the 1940 American Association of University Professors' Statement and the need for redefinition as a consequence of many misunderstandings and misinterpretations that have arisen over time. The "counterpoint" received the greatest support, and it asserted that redefinition is not necessary, but rather the need is to clearly articulate the intended meaning of academic freedom through education, discussion, and by not supporting inappropriate behaviors in the name of "academic freedom." Reinforced clarity and operational guidance from the academy and academic institutions may add further clarification and may be the best approach to address the concerns related to academic freedom.

The 2016 ACCP Pharmacotherapy Didactic Curriculum Toolkit

The 2016 American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) Educational Affairs Committee was charged with updating and contemporizing ACCP's 2009 Pharmacotherapy Didactic Curriculum Toolkit. The toolkit has been designed to guide schools and colleges of pharmacy in developing, maintaining, and modifying their curricula. The 2016 committee reviewed the recent medical literature and other documents to identify disease states that are responsive to drug therapy. Diseases and content topics were organized by organ system, when feasible, and grouped into tiers as defined by practice competency. Tier 1 topics should be taught in a manner that prepares all students to provide collaborative, patient-centered care upon graduation and licensure. Tier 2 topics are generally taught in the professional curriculum, but students may require additional knowledge or skills after graduation (e.g., residency training) to achieve competency in providing direct patient care. Tier 3 topics may not be taught in the professional curriculum; thus, graduates will be required to obtain the necessary knowledge and skills on their own to provide direct patient care, if required in their practice. The 2016 toolkit contains 276 diseases and content topics, of which 87 (32%) are categorized as tier 1, 133 (48%) as tier 2, and 56 (20%) as tier 3. The large number of tier 1 topics will require schools and colleges to use creative pedagogical strategies to achieve the necessary practice competencies. Almost half of the topics (48%) are tier 2, highlighting the importance of postgraduate residency training or equivalent practice experience to competently care for patients with these disorders. The Pharmacotherapy Didactic Curriculum Toolkit will continue to be updated to provide guidance to faculty at schools and colleges of pharmacy as these academic pharmacy institutions regularly evaluate and modify their curricula to keep abreast of scientific advances and associated practice changes. Access the current Pharmacotherapy Didactic Curriculum Toolkit at http://www.accp.com/docs/positions/misc/Toolkit_final.pdf.

Pittsburgh project takes novel approach in fighting opioid epidemic.

Knowing that a certain opioid is responsible for deaths in a community can be useful in preventing more such fatalities, according to a pharmacy faculty member whose project aims to do that and more. Associate professor Janice L. Pringle directs the Program Evaluation and Research Unit at the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy. She and the unit led the creation of OverdoseFreePA.org, an online resource for Pennsylvania communities to increase their efforts in treating and preventing substance use disorders. A major project at OverdoseFreePA.org is to clean the data that county coroners and medical examiners provide on drug-related overdose deaths. The cleanup is based in part on heroin metabolism: the human body converts heroin to morphine or 6-monoacetylmorphine and converts morphine to codeine. At autopsy of persons exposed to heroin, according to OverdoseFreePA.org, that drug oftentimes is not detectable in a toxicology screen, but a metabolite (morphine) is detectable; thus, their death certificates almost exclusively list morphine and perhaps antidepressants and marijuana, Pringle said.

Assessing the inter-rater reliability and accuracy of pharmacy faculty’s Bloom’s Taxonomy classifications

ObjectiveTo identify inter-rater reliability and accuracy of pharmacy faculty members' classification of exam questions based on Bloom’s Taxonomy. MethodsFaculty at a college of pharmacy was given six example exam questions to assign to the appropriate Bloom’s level. ResultsInter-rater reliability and accuracy were both low at 0.25 and 46.0%, respectively. Accuracy increased to 81.8% when the six Bloom’s levels collapsed to three. ConclusionsBoth inter-rater reliability and accuracy were low. Faculty members' misclassifications suggested a three-tier combination of the Bloom’s levels that would optimally improve accuracy: Knowledge, Comprehension/Application, and Analysis/Synthesis/Evaluation. Faculty development should also be considered in improving accuracy and reliability.

Interprofessional education in the Arabic-speaking Middle East: Perspectives of pharmacy academics

ABSTRACTThe current status of interprofessional education (IPE) in Arabic Middle Eastern countries is largely unexamined and there is a need to assess IPE and collaborative practice in these countries. As faculty attitudes towards IPE are believed to be one of the main factors that affect the successful integration of IPE into the different healthcare curricula, this article aims to explore the attitudes and views of pharmacy academics in Arabic-speaking Middle Eastern countries towards IPE and collaborative practice. The findings from this article are part of a larger study investigating pharmacy’s perspectives of IPE and collaborative practice in Qatar and the Middle East. An online survey which included three validated scales was used to gather information from pharmacy academics at 89 pharmacy schools in 14 countries. The response rate was 107 out of 334 (32%) and the majority of the respondents were from Jordan, Qatar, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia. Statistical analysis was completed descriptively as well as inferentially using a series of independent t-tests. Overall pharmacy academics had positive attitudes towards IPE. The majority of the respondents, 90.8% (n = 99), perceived IPE to be important. Age, likelihood to engage in IPE, and years of IPE experience were the factors that were related to faculty members’ attitudes towards IPE. Highly perceived barriers for implementing IPE included cultural challenges for each profession, scheduling common courses, and activities in addition to limited resources. The study findings indicated that pharmacy academics in the Middle East are ready to pursue IPE. These results can serve as impetus for implementing IPE in Middle Eastern countries.