Academic Pharmacy Research Articles

A collaborative approach to residency preparation programming for pharmacy students.

An innovative program to help pharmacy students navigate the residency application and interview process is described, including results of a survey evaluating the program's impact. The Ohio State University (OSU) chapter of the Student Society of Health-System Pharmacy (SSHP) collaborated with OSU College of Pharmacy faculty members, pharmacists from OSU Wexner Medical Center and surrounding areas, and current pharmacy residents to provide programming to equip pharmacy students with skills to succeed as residency candidates. The programming has four components: Curriculum Vitae (CV) Critique, Mock Residency Interviews, Residency 101, and Midyear to Match (M-M), a six-part series that provides guidance on the Residency Showcase at the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Midyear Clinical Meeting, Match day (the annual matching process coordinated by ASHP), and the post-Match "scramble," in which unmatched applicants compete for unfilled residency slots. In an online survey conducted by the SSHP chapter after the 2012-13 residency year, 26 of 57 survey respondents indicated they had pursued a residency. Twenty respondents reported success in the Match (a rate 15% higher than the national average), with 9 reporting acceptance by their first-choice residency site. The mock interview program was rated as the most useful (a mean score of 4.8 on a 5-point scale), followed by the M-M series (mean score, 4.6). Collaborative programming coordinated by the OSU chapter of SSHP was offered to pharmacy students to improve preparation for the residency application and interview process. The program was well received by participants.

Engaging External Senior Faculty Members as Faculty Mentors

A small nonprofit private college with limited resources and a high proportion of junior faculty developed a nontraditional external faculty mentor program in the summer of 2011 in response to the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) faculty survey data regarding the professional development needs of pharmacy faculty members. Experienced faculty members with national reputations from other colleges and schools of pharmacy were hired as consultants to serve as mentors for assigned faculty members. Program goals were to provide directed, individual mentorship for pharmacy practice and basic science faculty members, expand peer review of faculty teaching prowess, and enhance monthly faculty development programming. The latter was based upon the specific needs assessment of the faculty. Program outcomes reported will include faculty satisfaction (AACP faculty survey data) changes over time, achievement of board certification for clinical faculty members and other credentialing, and other benchmarks, eg, publications, grant funding, service engagement (site development, professional organizations), after the implementation of the nontraditional faculty-mentoring program.

Education, Training, and Academic Experience of Newly Hired, First-Time Pharmacy Faculty Members

Objective. To describe the education, training, and academic experiences of newly hired faculty members at US colleges and schools of pharmacy during the 2012-2013 academic year. Methods. A survey regarding education, training, and academic experiences was conducted of all first-time faculty members at US colleges and schools of pharmacy hired during the 2012-2013 academic year. Results. Pharmacy practice faculty members accounted for the majority (68.2%) of new hires. Ambulatory care was the most common pharmacy specialty position (29.8%). Most new faculty members had a doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) as their terminal degree (74.8%), and 88.3% of pharmacy practice faculty members completed a residency. Of new faculty members who responded to the survey, 102 (67.5%) had at least 3 prior academic teaching, precepting, or research experiences. Conclusion. New faculty members were hired most frequently for clinical faculty positions at the assistant professor level and most frequently in the specialty of ambulatory care. Prior academic experience included precepting pharmacy students, facilitating small discussions, and guest lecturing.

Perceptions of Tenure and Tenure Reform in Academic Pharmacy

To determine the academic pharmacy community's perceptions of and recommendations for tenure and tenure reform. A survey instrument was administered via either a live interview or an online survey instrument to selected members of the US academic pharmacy community. The majority of respondents felt that tenure in academic pharmacy was doing what it was intended to do, which is to provide academic freedom and allow for innovation (59.6%). Respondents raised concern over the need for faculty mentoring before and after achieving tenure, whether tenure adequately recognized service, and that tenure was not the best standard for recognition and achievement. The majority (63%) agreed that tenure reform was needed in academic pharmacy, with the most prevalent recommendation being to implement post-tenure reviews. Some disparities in opinions of tenure reform were seen in the subgroup analyses of clinical science vs basic science faculty members, public vs private institutions, and administrators vs nonadministrators. The majority of respondents want to see tenure reformed in academic pharmacy.

Passing the Torch

It my sincere pleasure to welcome Dr. Gayle A. Brazeau, Dean at the University of New England College of Pharmacy, as the 7th Editor of the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education. Gayle has served as an Associate Editor of the Journal for over 9 years and has a wealth of experience in pharmacy education and an outstanding record of leadership in the profession. She is well known to many in pharmacy education. She has led Journal efforts in the pharmaceutical sciences and played a major role in quality improvement efforts of the Journal, including the peer review process. Dr. Brazeau has had appointments as Professor of Pharmacy Practice and the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University at Buffalo, State University of New York. Before then, she was a faculty member at the University of Houston and the University of Florida. She is a product of the University of Toledo with a bachelor of science degree in pharmacy, and of the University at Buffalo, State University of New York, with a PhD in pharmaceutics. She has been very active in the Association, having served as an elected officer, committee member and committee chair including the Chair of the Council of Faculties. She has been recognized many times for her teaching at the University at Buffalo, University of Florida, and the University of Houston. She has served on Food and Drug Administration, the United States Pharmacopeia, and National Institutes of Health panels and committees, and has a consistent record of peer review publications, book chapters, and books throughout her academic career She describes her pedagogical research interests as focusing on curricular assessment strategies and design and assessment of student learning, and her laboratory research interests on investigating the biochemical and toxicological interactions of drugs or excipients with skeletal muscle and other disease effects on skeletal muscle. The Journal concluded its 77th year of publication in 2013. The mission of the Journal has remained the same over the past 10 years: “to document and advance pharmaceutical education in the United States and internationally.” The Journal has been advantaged by the growth in pharmacy education. Pharmacy educators throughout the United States and the world have had phenomenal success in designing and implementing better approaches for teaching and learning. Many of these efforts find their way into the Journal. The success of the Journal can be attributed to the foundation that was established from the first year of publication in 1937 by previous editors, editorial board members, authors, and reviewers. The Journal has benefited from our exceptional Associate Editors: Jack Fincham, Claire Anderson and Frank Romanelli (as well as Dr. Brazeau). Dr. Fincham has been our expert in many areas including social and administrative sciences, health economics, health behavior, and public health topics. Dr. Anderson is our International Associate Editor who has increased the international visibility of the Journal. Dr. Romanelli brings expertise in pharmacy practice and pharmacotherapy, public health, and curriculum development. The Journal has been fortunate to have Senior Assistant Editor Karen Shipp and other Journal staff members who have done the critical day-to-day work of publishing, the Editorial Board members and peer reviewers who have provided expert guidance and feedback, and our authors whose research and insights have had a positive impact on academic pharmacy. The Journal is a result of the excellent scholarship that has come from the pharmacy education academy and from all of our authors and manuscript reviewers who work hard to assure the high quality of what is published. The South Carolina College of Pharmacy at the University of South Carolina and the University of Georgia College of Pharmacy have provided a home for the Journal editorial office since 2002. The AACP Board of Directors and staff have played a critical role in the Journal’s success. AACP Executive Vice President and CEO Lucinda Maine and Senior Director of Academic Affairs Cecilia Plaza have always provided valuable support and guidance. Looking back over the past decade there were important Board decisions that led to significant Journal progress: to convert from print to online publication, to allow open-access publication, to appoint associate editors, to increase to 10 issues per year, to fund a full-time assistant editor position, and to provide support for state-of-the-art website. It has been a great privilege of my career to have served as Editor the past 12 years. As Editor, I have learned much from all the great work of the Journal authors, and I highly valued the opportunity to meet many colleagues in pharmacy education. I have enjoyed every minute being editor and will certainly miss it in the years ahead.

Part-time and Job-Share Careers Among Pharmacy Practice Faculty Members

Part-time and job-share policies may allow pharmacy practice faculty members to achieve work/life balance while pursuing their professional goals. Precedent for alternative work schedules within the health professions community can be found throughout the literature; however, little is known about part-time roles in academic pharmacy. The design and implementation of 3 different alternative faculty appointments are described and department chair and faculty perspectives are shared. Teaching, service, and scholarship responsibilities, as well as outcomes before and after changes in appointment, are described. Advantages and disadvantages, including advice for other colleges of pharmacy, are presented. Alternate appointments may be a key factor in retaining highly qualified faculty members who continue to bring their expertise to teaching, precepting, and scholarship within a college or school of pharmacy.

New Questions for Pharmacists in the Health Care System

The pharmacy profession is determining how it will become a vital part of new health care models such as accountable care organizations (ACOs) and patient-centered medical homes (PCMHs). Pharmacists must be prepared to demonstrate their value in these emerging health care models by improving the quality of care, reducing health care costs, and enhancing patient access and satisfaction. The health care decision makers will require demonstration of value, framed in business language, using new measures of outcomes quite different from what have been used in the past for pharmacy services. Colleges and schools of pharmacy should take on the task of developing these new measures demonstrating pharmacist value in collaborative care delivery, and instruct students in how they will need to demonstrate their value in new health care models. The way that the value of a pharmacist is measured has changed, particularly for patient-focused services. First-generation “clinical pharmacists” back in the 1970s and 1980s typically focused their efforts on physicians (ie, pharmacists provided drug information or rounding with them on medical teams”) and were more often physician consultants than patient care providers. Some of the key questions to be answered included: were physicians satisfied with the information pharmacists provided and did the information change the physician’s treatment plan? In the last few decades, we have learned that keeping physician colleagues happy is important to pharmacy but not sufficient to create a financially viable pharmacist practice and not consistent with current thinking about collaborative team care. As pharmacists’ responsibility to patients gained recognition, the key questions changed to whether pharmacists could positively influence important disease outcome measures (such as blood pressure, blood glucose and hemoglobin A1c, INR, serum lipids). Over the past couple of decades, hundreds of reports have been published—some in the most respected medical journals—documenting the positive influence that pharmacists have on disease outcome measures. As important as this documentation is, it will not be sufficient alone to demonstrate the value of the pharmacist in the emerging era of health care. The key questions continue to change in this emerging era. Yes, pharmacists can manage blood pressure, INR, blood glucose, etc, but can they do so better than other health professionals? Can pharmacists improve the quality and productivity of health care teams and systems? By their participation on teams can they improve the efficiency and productivity of other health care team members? While the implications for the profession become more evident over time, there are also important implications for pharmacy education. The many pharmacy faculty members who are skilled in outcomes research can direct their efforts to addressing these new questions. Colleges and schools can instruct students about new expectations and how to demonstrate their value, and they can invest in studying the emerging health care models to determine how pharmacists can positively affect the health system. Patient care pharmacists must continue to generate the good will of other members of the health care team, demonstrate that they can positively influence health outcomes, and now, demonstrate value by improving the productivity and quality of the patient-centered care team and the health system in which they work.

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: An Opportunity for Clinical Faculty Members in Academic Pharmacy and Other Health Professions to Develop a Program of Scholarship

Expansion in academic pharmacy and other health professions has increased the demand for clinical faculty members. The requirement to provide clinical service is unique to clinical faculty and creates a competing demand with the expectation to excel in the tripartite missions of their institution. The efforts of clinical faculty are heavily focused towards the institution’s educational mission. However, often they lack formal training in educational methodology and require ongoing professional development to hone their teaching skills. Therefore, as clinical faculty develop as scholarly teachers, the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) represents an ideal form of scholarship for them to pursue. This essay provides guidance on how clinical faculty members in academic pharmacy and other health professions can transform the act of teaching into scholarly teaching to develop a program of scholarship in SoTL.

Perceptions of Tenure and Tenure Reform in Academic Pharmacy

Perceptions of Tenure and Tenure Reform in Academic Pharmacy

Evaluation of pharmacy faculty knowledge and perceptions of the patient-centered medical home within pharmacy education

PurposeTo assess pharmacy faculty knowledge about key patient-centered medical home (PCMH) principles and evaluate pharmacy faculty perception of inclusion of PCMH information in didactic and/or experiential pharmacy education. MethodsE-mail addresses of 6433 pharmacy faculty members were obtained from the 2011–2012 American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) roster. In an online survey, faculty rated their familiarity with key PCMH principles, indicated whether PCMH concepts are currently included and/or should be included in pharmacy education, and where and how this information should be taught. ResultsResponses are included from 781 faculty members (12.1%). Among them, 641 (82%) respondents reported being aware of PCMH. A total of 207 (27%) respondents report PCMH is taught didactically and 203 (28%) report inclusion in experiential education. Faculty members were most likely to indicate that PCMH should be incorporated into required lectures and workshops in the first, second, and third professional didactic years, and into experiential education in the third and fourth years. ConclusionMany faculty members agree that it is important to teach about the PCMH health care model, but there is a low level of faculty familiarity with the standards and principles that guide this health care paradigm. Future pharmacists have an important opportunity to advance practice by participating in PCMH team care, and pharmacy education has a central responsibility in incorporating these concepts into the didactic and experiential curriculum in order to prepare pharmacists to effectively contribute in this setting.

Descriptive report of a team-taught elective academic-focused advanced pharmacy practice experience

ObjectivesTo describe the development of a team-taught academic-focused advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE). MethodsThis APPE was developed as a way to expose students to academic pharmacy while accommodating increasing faculty APPE student teaching loads. The academic-focused APPE integrated weekly live didactic seminars with an online learning component. Using synchronous distance learning technology, the academic-focused APPE was simultaneously delivered between two separate education campuses. ResultsA total of 13 students and eight faculty participated during the first offering (Fall 2011) of this six-week academic-focused APPE. Surveys were administered to both the students and faculty at the completion of the APPE. Both, students and faculty rated many of the specific assignments and activities favorably and perceived the rotation favorably overall. ConclusionsThe combination of a shared pharmacy practice faculty workload and a positive learning experience for the students demonstrates that this team-taught approach is an effective means of offering an academic-focused APPE rotation.

Letters to the Editor

Letters to the Editor

Reliability of a Minimal Competency Score for an Annual Skills Mastery Assessment

To determine whether the modified Angoff process can be used to calculate a reliable minimal competency ("cut") score for the Annual Skills Mastery Assessment (ASMA). Three panels of pharmacy faculty members used a modified Angoff method to create a minimal competency score for 60 previously used test items. The panels did not know which items were included. Data were analyzed to determine differences between rating sessions, faculty type, item difficulty, and rater scoring bias. The cut score generated was not significantly different by session or faculty type. The range of cut scores varied by less than 3% per examination. Faculty panelists correctly predicted student performance on items grouped as easy, medium, and hard. A properly constructed faculty panel can determine a reliable cut score and accurately rank relative test item difficulty using the modified Angoff process.

Leadership Development of Student Pharmacists

Leadership Development of Student Pharmacists

Student and Faculty Observations and Perceptions of Professionalism in Online Domain Scenarios

To relate common online scenarios to tenets of professionalism, assess frequency of observed scenarios in 4 online domains, and compare second-year (P2) pharmacy students, fourth-year (P4) pharmacy students', and faculty members' perceptions of professionalism. A 63-item survey instrument consisting of scenarios of behavior in online domains was developed. Using a Likert scale, participants reported whether they had observed each scenario and whether each scenario was professional. Of the 296 participants who completed the survey instrument, 53% were P2 students, 49% were P4 students, and 68% were faculty members. Most of the observed scenario responses were for social networking sites. There were statistical differences among the 3 cohorts' perception over whether a scenario demonstrated professional behavior in 6 of the 10 most frequently observed scenarios, and 4 out of 6 of these scenarios were in the social networking domain. Second-year pharmacy students and faculty members were more in alignment with their perception of professionalism then P4 students, suggesting that P4 students may be more complacent in their perception of professionalism.

A Blueprint for Transitioning Pharmacy Residents Into Successful Clinical Faculty Members in Colleges and Schools of Pharmacy

With the increase of new pharmacy colleges and schools throughout the country, the number of open clinical academic pharmacy positions continues to grow. Considering the abundance of clinical faculty positions available nationwide and the increased likelihood of current pharmacy residents transitioning from residency directly into academia, pharmacy residents must be prepared to succeed in the role of new clinical faculty member. However, no blueprint or recommendations have yet been provided to facilitate this transition. The purpose of this review article is to evaluate the literature regarding transitioning pharmacy students and/or residents into faculty roles. The literature reviewed represents nursing, medical, graduate school, and engineering disciplines because no literature on this topic was available from the pharmacy profession. Based on the recommendations provided in the literature and on the authors' experience at their college, they created a blueprint consisting of 7 components to help residents transition directly into their roles as faculty members.

Faculty knowledge and perceptions of pharmacy practice and education at a traditionally Liberal Arts College

ObjectiveTo describe a non-pharmacy, undergraduate faculty’s knowledge and perceptions regarding pharmacy education and practice, including whether they would address pharmacists as “doctor.” MethodsThis was a voluntary, cross-sectional study. A 37-item survey was delivered via electronic mail to 82 non-pharmacy faculty members, which contained items related to the study objectives and demographics. ResultsA total of 81 (99% response rate) non-pharmacy faculty members began the survey, with 72 complete responses used for analyses. The majority of responders held a PhD (64%) or Master’s (31%) degree. Overall, 21% identified pharmacists as “doctors”; these responders were likely to express positive views of pharmacy education (93% vs. 63%, p = 0.028). Only 51% preferred to consult a pharmacist regarding medication-related questions. Most responders expressed moderate (43%) or low (47%) knowledge of pharmacy education. All responders held a positive (69%) or undecided (31%) view of pharmacy education. When asked about community pharmacists style of introduction, 63% (N = 45) of respondents indicated that community pharmacists do not introduce themselves. Conclusions/implicationsThis highly educated population does not identify pharmacists as “doctors” and may be unaware of the changing role of pharmacists. Since the role of the pharmacist is expanding in the healthcare system, particularly with medication therapy management and clinical practices, it is important for pharmacy faculty members to improve non-pharmacy faculty members’ knowledge regarding pharmacy and the education of pharmacists. Additionally, the findings from this study imply that pharmacy educators need to encourage student pharmacists to ensure time is spent communicating their expertise to the general population.

Student and Faculty Perceptions of Lecture Recording in a Doctor of Pharmacy Curriculum

To describe students' and faculty members' perceptions of the impact of lecture recording in a doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) curriculum. Second- and third-year pharmacy students and faculty members completed an anonymous survey instrument regarding their perceptions of lecture recording with 2 classroom lecture capture software programs, Camtasia Studio and Wimba Classroom. Most students (82%) responded that Camtasia was very helpful and almost half (49%) responded that Wimba Classroom was helpful (p<0.001). Forty-six percent of the students reported being more likely to miss a class that was recorded; however, few students (10%) reported using recordings as a substitute for attending class. The most common concern of faculty members was decreased student attendance (27%). Pharmacy students consider lecture recordings beneficial, and they use the recordings primarily to review the lecture. While faculty members reported concerns with decreased attendance, few students reported using recordings as an alternative to class attendance.

Learning Styles and Teaching Perspectives of Canadian Pharmacy Practice Residents and Faculty Preceptors

To characterize and compare learning styles of pharmacy practice residents and their faculty preceptors, and identify teaching perspectives of faculty preceptors. Twenty-nine pharmacy residents and 306 pharmacy faculty members in British Columbia were invited to complete the Pharmacists' Inventory of Learning Styles (PILS). Faculty preceptors also were asked to complete the Teaching Perspectives Inventory (TPI). One hundred percent of residents and 61% of faculty members completed the PILS, and 31% of faculty members completed the TPI. The most common dominant learning style among residents and faculty preceptors was assimilator, and 93% were assimilators, convergers, or both. The distribution of dominant learning styles between residents and faculty members was not different (p=0.77). The most common dominant teaching perspective among faculty members was apprenticeship. Residents and preceptors mostly exhibited learning styles associated with abstract over concrete thinking or watching over doing. Residency programs should steer residents more toward active learning and doing, and maximize interactions with patients and other caregivers.

The Relentless Pursuit of Excellence in Pharmacy Education

Those of you who know me well, know that I try to approach life with a sense of humor. As this is a time for serious discussion, I have struggled a bit in considering how to address House of Delegates to present my presidential priorities for 2013-2014. When I contemplated my speech, I hoped to be inspirational and eloquent, sharing remarks that would be memorable. However, needed inspiration to achieve these lofty goals escaped me. So, I turned to an author and philosopher who I have admired throughout my life: Snoopy. Unfortunately, he wasn't very helpful. I chose as theme for 2013-2014, the relentless pursuit of excellence. Throughout my career in academic pharmacy, schools and colleges of pharmacy have been leaders on their campuses as well as leaders in training healthcare professionals. We have always been about excellence in pharmacy education. Academic pharmacy is at crossroads of many avenues of change. Change is sometimes disruptive in nature. Areas of change include continuing evolution of pharmacy as a profession, massive changes underway in how and to whom healthcare is delivered in America, and rapid change in higher education. This includes both demand for greater accountability in higher education and innovation in delivery models to individualize and improve student learning as well as to increase access to learning. We live in a time where change is new constant, and we must continue to strive for excellence in all that we do. As I framed my priorities for coming year, it was important to me that we build on impressive work inspired by presidential priorities of those who have gone before me. Our first priority area of excellence is technology-based education delivery. The 2012-2013 Argus Commission studied game changers likely to influence pharmacy education. A major theme of their report is use of instructional technology to its fullest capability to create better instruction and to develop and use analytics for guiding and directing faculty members and students. The New Media Consortium's 2013 Higher Education Report identifies 3 technologies in particular that have garnered significant interest within Academy as areas warranting further study: * The first is massively open online courses or MOOCs. This technology has potential to provide educational resources to a broad audience at high efficiency and reduced cost. This makes MOOCS extremely appealing to institutions during times of economic recession and reduced federal and state support for higher education. MOOCs have also generated a great deal of concern across higher education. * The second technology is gamification. Gamification incorporates elements of games into academic activities with goal of increasing student interest, motivation, and engagement with content. In a gamified curriculum, students accept challenges for points or other rewards and often have significant freedom in choosing what kind of assignments they undertake to achieve desired outcomes. * The third technology is learning analytics, field that deciphers trends and patterns from education and student-related data to advance personalized learning. Student-specific data can be used for purposes that include tailoring learning platforms and guiding students to additional learning resources. To provide direction on how academic pharmacy can achieve excellence in technology-enabled education and to elaborate on American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy's (AACP) role in development of new educational resources, technologies and learning models, Academic Affairs Committee, led by Jeff Cain, University of Kentucky, is charged to consider question: What is AACP's role in assisting schools and colleges of pharmacy in implementing new and emerging educational technologies? In addition to MOOCs, gaming, and analytics, this group is asked to explore: * Recognition within promotion and tenure process for faculty members who are innovators in advancing technology-enabled education * How accreditation standards revision can support innovation in technology-enabled learning and assessment models Our second priority area of excellence is technician training. …