Pharmacy Graduates Research Articles

The Report of the 2017-2018 Professional Affairs Standing Committee: The Development of the Preceptor Self-Assessment Tool for Entrustable Professional Activities for New Graduates

The 2017-2018 AACP Professional Affairs Committee addressed the charges of (1) developing a self-reflection/self-assessment tool for pharmacy faculty and preceptors to allow them to assess their capability and confidence with Center for the Advancement of Pharmacy Education (CAPE) Educational Outcomes, the Pharmacists' Patient Care Process (PPCP), and the Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) for New Pharmacy Graduates and (2) creation of a plan for AACP to utilize in the development of preceptor continuing education and training programs. This report describes the framework, rationale and process for the development of the Preceptor Self-Assessment Tool for Entrustable Professional Activities for New Pharmacy Graduates (PSAE Tool), the pre-test for the PSAE tool, and the online pilot test and its results for the PSAE Tool. The committee provides recommendations for AACP in the continued development and distribution of the PSAE Tool to the schools of pharmacy. Considerations for AACP and the schools of pharmacy to consider in the continuing professional development (CPD) for all preceptors are also discussed. The committee provides a policy statement, adopted by the AACP House of Delegates, regarding the commitment of AACP regarding the CPD for all preceptors. The committee also provides several recommendations to AACP and suggestions to schools of pharmacy and other stakeholder groups pertaining to the committee charges.

Breaking Down Barriers to Pharmacy Graduate Education: The Report of the 2017-2018 Research and Graduate Affairs Committee

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The 2017-2018 Research and Graduate Affairs Committee (RGAC) was given three charges aimed at helping academic pharmacy address barriers that must be overcome by both students and schools to attract, retain, and support the development of a diverse, well-rounded, and successful graduate student population. These charges were (1) identifying teaching methodologies, tools and opportunities that graduate programs can introduce into curriculum to overcome barriers to success of today's and tomorrow's learners; (2) developing a strategy for achieving member support of the 2016-2017 recommended graduate competencies by identifying gaps in and existing examples of courses or opportunities that achieve competency-based pharmacy graduate education; and (3) identifying potential strategies to address identified barriers to pursuing graduate education, especially among under-represented student populations. This report describes attitudes toward and opportunities related to competency-based education in graduation education in colleges and schools of pharmacy, identifies types of tools schools could use to enhance training towards the competency framework developed by the 2016-2017 RGAC, particularly with regards to the so-called power skills, and outlines a role for AACP in facilitating this training. This report also considers a number of barriers, both perceived and real, that potential students encounter when considering graduate training and suggests strategies to understand the impact of and mitigate these barriers. To strengthen competency-based graduate education, the RGAC puts forth two recommendations that AACP develop a toolkit supporting the training of power skills and that AACP should develop or curate programs or tools to support the use of individual development plans (IDPs). The RGAC also puts forth a suggestion to schools that IDPs be implemented for all students. In considering the barriers to pursuing graduate education, the Committee proposes one policy statement that AACP supports the training and development of an increasingly diverse population of researchers at pharmacy schools through active efforts to promote M.S. and Ph.D. education along with Pharm.D. education. Additionally, the Committee provides recommendations that AACP should expand its efforts in career tracking of graduate students to include collection and/or analysis of data that could inform the Academy's understanding of barriers to pursuing graduate education in pharmacy schools, the AACP Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness should expand upon graduate program data described in the annual Profile of Pharmacy Students report, and finally that AACP should include graduate programs in efforts to increase diversity of students at pharmacy schools.

Validation of the entrustable professional activities for new pharmacy graduates.

The face validity of the core entrustable professional activities (EPAs) for new pharmacy graduates published by the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) in 2017 was evaluated. A 28-item questionnaire was sent to experienced pharmacy practitioners affiliated with 4 schools of pharmacy. In addition to demographic information about education, training, credentials, and practice setting, participants were asked whether each EPA statement was pertinent to pharmacy practice and an expected activity that all pharmacists should be able to perform. Questions regarding the secondary attributes of the EPA statements examined whether each activity is observable, is measurable, is transferable to multiple practice settings, and integrates multiple competencies. The questionnaire was distributed to 137 eligible participants, and 71 usable survey responses were received. Participants consistently agreed (≥75% agreement) that the 15 EPA statements for new pharmacy graduates describe activities that are pertinent to pharmacy practice and that pharmacists are expected to perform. A consistent level of agreement was observed regardless of the preceptor's employment with a college or school, board certification status, or completion of postgraduate training, and no statistical differences in level of agreement were found based on these attributes. There was consistent agreement (≥60%) across geographic regions. No statistical differences in agreement were found between acute care practitioners and ambulatory care practitioners. A survey suggested that the core EPAs developed and vetted by AACP have face validity and are believed by experienced pharmacy preceptor-practitioners to be pertinent to pharmacy practice and to describe activities that all pharmacists should be able to competently perform.

Perceived preparedness for full-scope pharmacist services among recent Doctor of Pharmacy graduates from Ontario schools of pharmacy

ObjectivesTo examine how recent Doctor of Pharmacy graduates feel about providing full-scope pharmacist services (such as prescribing and immunization) and whether characteristics such as recent graduates’ institutional and personal demographics, practice setting (e.g., busyness of practice, time spent directly with patients), or additional education after graduation affect their perceptions of feeling able and sure to perform services. DesignCross-sectional survey. Setting and participantsRecent graduates from 2 pharmacy schools in Ontario, Canada, who were licensed Ontario pharmacists and provided direct patient care in a community pharmacy setting. Outcome measuresDichotomous variables measured how able (less or more able) and sure (less or more sure) recent pharmacy graduates felt in performing 14 full-scope pharmacist services. ResultsOf the 231 survey respondents (23.2% response rate), 120 met the inclusion criteria. Overall, graduates felt prepared to perform these services in practice, although for many services, graduates felt more sure than able. Busier practice settings and services that were provided less frequently had a negative impact on new graduate's perceptions of being able and sure. Respondents who were younger or were pursuing further postgraduate training also felt less able and sure. ConclusionIt is important for employers of new graduates and academics who train pharmacy students to recognize and encourage new graduates’ feelings of being sure and able to provide full-scope pharmacist services. However, new graduates were not immune to the impacts of busy practice settings on provision of these services and should be supported in their development and interest in further training.

An initial exploration of the perceptions of preparedness to practise among Saudi Arabian trained hospital pharmacists.

Background:There is a dearth of literature on perceptions of preparedness to practise, which explores the extent to which educational institutions prepare their students to fulfil their professional role.Objective:The aim of this study was to explore perceptions of preparedness to practise among Saudi Arabian pharmacy graduates working in hospital.Method:Face-to-face, semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten hospital pharmacists based in four hospitals in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia who had qualified within the last five years from a Saudi Arabian School of Pharmacy. Interviews focused on expectations of hospital practise, perceptions of preparedness and challenges encountered, and reflections on how to better prepare students. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed thematically by two independent researchers using the Framework Approach.Results::Five key themes were identified: expectations versus reality of practise; issues relating to university course; practice related training; adapting to the work environment; and proposed improvements to undergraduate education. Participants were generally disappointed to find practise was not as expected. University training was largely didactic, with skills such as critical thinking not being sufficiently developed. Where practice related training was provided, it was variable in length and content. Cultural issues, most notably working in a mixed sex environment, were also considered to impact preparedness. Suggested improvements included greater focus on skills development and structured training placements.Conclusions:Participants experiences in university, and experiential placements varied greatly and were perceived to impact greatly on preparedness to practise. Further multiple perspective exploration of perceptions of preparedness to practise is warranted.

Outcomes of Student-Driven, Faculty-Mentored Research and Impact on Postgraduate Training and Career Selection

Objective. To evaluate scholarly deliverables from student-driven research and explore the impact on postgraduate training placement rates, pharmacy faculty appointments and lifetime publications. Methods. A retrospective analysis of Doctor of Pharmacy graduates who conducted student research between the academic years of 2002 and 2015 was performed. Data were collected on research participation, abstracts, presentations, postgraduate training, full-time faculty appointments, and publications. Results. Of 1229 graduates, 300 participated in research during pharmacy school. Fifty-six percent (n=167) submitted at least one abstract and 68 students (23%) published their research. Research participation was associated with a significantly higher likelihood of postgraduate training and specialty training. Research participation positively affected the likelihood of faculty appointment and lifetime publication rate. Conclusion. Students who engaged in elective research had significant scholarly deliverables, including peer-reviewed publications, and were more likely to successfully match in a postgraduate position and achieve full-time academic appointments.

The Benefit of Continuing Professional Development for Continuing Pharmacy Education

The Benefit of Continuing Professional Development for Continuing Pharmacy Education

MAMS: A Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Rich Collaborative Bridge Program to Doctoral Graduate and Health Professional School

The Master of Arts in Medical Sciences (MAMS) degree at Heritage University, a predominantly Native American and Hispanic‐serving liberal arts institution, is a one‐year bridge or pipeline program to doctoral graduate and health professional schools. The degree program is operated in collaboration with Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine and Washington State University College of Pharmacy. MAMS students are typically first generation, minority, late‐blooming, or disadvantaged individuals. Coursework taken alongside first‐year medical students at Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences as well as first‐year pharmacy students at Washington State University coupled with standardized exam preparation, service‐learning opportunities, mentorship, study strategies, club participation, and access to medical, physician assistant, and pharmacy school faculty/staff/students provide MAMS students with the capability to strengthen their applications as well as demonstrate their readiness for doctoral or professional school study. The curriculum is biochemistry rich and focuses on the molecular basis of health and disease. Topical content covered includes histology, immunology, embryology, microbiology, biochemical metabolism, genetics, pharmacogenomics, medical physiology, and research theory. Additional instruction is provided in medical skills as well as the psychosocial basis of disease and treatment. Delivery of course content utilizes lectures, in‐class discussion, case‐based learning, small‐group learning, computer‐facilitated learning, and laboratory activities to maximize student comprehension of fundamental basic science principles. Since the program's inception in 2012, 100% of students have graduated, 41% of students have been minorities, nearly 90% of graduates have gained admission into a doctoral graduate or health professional school of their choice, and 98% of MAMS students in doctoral or professional programs have remained in good academic standing. MAMS students have been admitted to medical, dental, optometry, pharmacy, podiatry, physician assistant, and doctoral graduate schools. MAMS students admitted to professional schools have achieved equivalent or superior class grades and board scores compared to other admitted students. Overall student satisfaction is running approximately 90%.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.

Pharmacists’ perceptions of career opportunities in Australia

AbstractBackgroundAnecdotal reports of an oversupply of pharmacy graduates are a growing concern for Australian pharmacists. However, limited data exists regarding pharmacists’ employment experiences and perceptions of current career opportunities in Australia.AimTo understand Australian pharmacists’ and pharmacy interns’ employment experiences by exploring their satisfaction and perspectives on current employment opportunities.MethodAn electronic survey was distributed to pharmacists and pharmacy interns across Australia between March and June 2016. National professional organisations for pharmacists assisted with the distribution of the survey. Follow‐up interviews were conducted to further explore survey findings.ResultsA total of 306 individuals completed the survey (83% pharmacists; 17% interns). The majority of pharmacists and interns reported high satisfaction with current employment and professional practice opportunities; however, there is a misalignment between their rated satisfaction and their perspectives on future employment prospects. Key themes that emerged included personal networks for employment, salary and location, and concerns for the future of the profession. The results suggested a confused workforce that are glad to have jobs, but not confident that they could move to other positions if required, or further, that there will be even fewer jobs available in the future.ConclusionThis study provided valuable insight to the Australian Pharmacist workforce, by improving our understanding of pharmacists’ employment experiences and perspectives. Further exploration of themes identified in this study is required to better inform the future of pharmacy professional practice and employment.

Successes, challenges, and impact of a large-cohort preclinical interprofessional curriculum: A four-year reflection

BackgroundAccreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) Standards 2016 established a new standard on interprofessional education (IPE) to place specific emphasis on developing interprofessional competence among pharmacy graduates. Interprofessional education activityInterprofessional Collaboration And Team Skills (iCATS) serves as the core interprofessional curriculum for nearly 700 first-year students in seven participating health professional programs. The curriculum was developed around the four Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) Competencies to develop foundational interprofessional knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Pharmacy students build preliminary competence in interprofessional roles and responsibilities, team dynamics, values and ethics, communication, and conflict resolution (ACPE Standard 11.1) and have an opportunity to learn about, from, and with other interprofessional students (ACPE Standard 11.2). DiscussionRefinement of the iCATS curriculum has been an iterative process over the past four years. For iCATS 2016–2017, all Interprofessional Collaborative Competency Attainment Scale (ICCAS) evaluation items indicated significant changes in pre- and posttest indicating targeted IPEC Competencies were addressed through the iCATS curriculum. ImplicationsThe 2016–2017 revision of iCATS resulted in the most effective iteration of this core interprofessional curriculum to date. Clearer course objectives, a compressed schedule, employment of a variety of teaching/learning methods, and greater schedule cooperation among the colleges have contributed to the success and delivery of an IPE curriculum. Additionally, iCATS provides a unique opportunity for pharmacy students to interact with health professions students from six other programs while making significant progress toward competence in ACPE Standards 11.1 and 11.2 on interprofessional education (IPE).

The Anatomical Society core anatomy syllabus for pharmacists: outcomes to create a foundation for practice.

The Anatomical Society has developed a series of learning outcomes that ‘experts’ within the field would recommend as core knowledge outputs for a Master's Degree Programme in Pharmacy (MPharm) within the UK. Using the Anatomical Society core gross anatomy syllabus for medical anatomy as a foundation, a modified Delphi technique was used to develop outcomes specific to pharmacy graduates. A Delphi panel consisting of medical practitioners, pharmacists and anatomists (n = 39) was created and involved ‘experts’ representing 20 UK Higher Education Institutions. The output from this study was 49 pharmacy‐specific learning outcomes that are applicable to all pharmacy programmes. The new MPharm anatomy syllabus offers a basic anatomical framework upon which pharmacy educators can build the necessary clinical practice and knowledge. These learning outcomes could be used to develop anatomy teaching within an integrated curriculum as per requirements of the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC).

Hospital Pharmacists in Europe: Between Warehouse and Prescription Pad?

Traditionally, pharmacy has long been regarded as a transitional discipline between health and chemistry [1]. However, since the 1950s the large-scale manufacturing of medicinal products by the pharmaceutical industry has limited the role of pharmacists to mainly compounding, dispensing and labeling drugs prescribed by physicians. Nowadays, pharmacists practice in a variety of settings—community and hospital pharmacies, regulatory and health authorities, pharmaceutical industry and research—and are generally recognized as drug experts regardless of their specific role. Although scientific knowledge is still the core of pharmacy education, pharmacists now seem to perceive it as somehow less relevant, and consider clinical patient-centered activities to be increasingly important [2], recently also including prescribing, claiming that the pharmacist’s involvement is vital to reducing clinical errors [3]. Here we focus on hospital pharmacists (HPhs), a historically recent profession, which still includes only a minority of pharmacy graduates (in Europe [4] and elsewhere), to analyze the ‘state of the art’ of this specific role, whose professional tasks are still debated in many European countries.

Advocating for Patient Care Literacy

The value of the arts and humanities in becoming an "educated" pharmacist is reviewed in this commentary. The term "patient care literacy" is defined as becoming a more humane pharmacist. This implies not only using heads but HARTSS (humanities, arts and social sciences) for developing the necessary skills. A conceptual framework for curricular reform that focuses on using the arts and humanities is proposed for advancing patient care literacy. Methods for enhancing use of arts and humanities for developing pharmacy graduates is specifically proposed. The need for more empiric research to demonstrate the value of the arts and humanities in developing a patient care literate professional is highlighted.

Understanding the Career Opportunities of Clinical Pharmacy in India

This review highlighted on understanding the career opportunities available in India for Clinical Pharmacy practitioners. Clinical pharmacy is a health science discipline which deals with providing patient care that optimizes medication therapy and promotes health, and disease prevention. To improve the status of this field in India a new course, Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D) was introduced a decade ago. The students pursuing this course are uncertain and misled about the career options of clinical pharmacy. Due to lack of awareness and skills among the budding pharmacists as well as the lack of guidance by academicians and academic institutions, it is really becoming difficult for the students to understand the areas where they can pursue their career. There are diverse fields in which Pharm.D students can pursue their career such as pharmacovigilance, health economics and outcome research, clinical research, medical writing, academics and research. However, clinical pharmacy and its practitioners have fewer acceptances in the healthcare system and among the general public. Due to lack of awareness among the Indian population, dominance of the clinicians in the healthcare field, lack of initiatives by the governing authorities to mandate the role of clinical pharmacist in the government sector this field is not well established. Therefore, it is high time for the budding pharmacists to focus on such an embrasure of the healthcare scenario and to understand and utilize the available opportunities. The present situation might be discouraging for the individuals pursuing their study in clinical pharmacy but, there is a wide scope and demand for the graduates in clinical pharmacy and no opportunity is small.

Importance of Competency level and its assessment in Pharmaceutical Industry

Both competency level and training plays a major role in pharmaceutical industries. Pharmaceutical industry employs technical people from various streams or fields like graduates and post graduates in pharmacy, engineering, science, management etc. On one hand, competency or basic education is a prerequisite for recruiting technical staff to perform assigned job, on the other hand, training the graduates from various streams is an important task for the pharmaceutical industry. Training and development is an ongoing or routine activity in pharma industry so that both the pharma companies and technical staff are up to date and meet the regulatory requirements as per norms. Even the competency level needs to be improved from time to time, like new generation smart phones, where in we need to update our smart phone to include new features or upload new software’s. If this is not done, we become outdated. Likewise, in pharmaceutical industries, both competency level and training and development go parallelly and complimentary to each other. With regulatory agencies (FDAs) becoming increasingly stringent, both competency and training have become integral part of today’s cGMP systems. Therefore, to make the technical staff more competent and well trained, this article gives a detailed insight into competency level and training and development.

Instructing introductory pharmacology in large undergraduate classes by using clinical problem-based learning (PBL) cases improves the generic problem-solving skills of students

After completing their studies at university, most pharmacology and pharmacy graduates will work in small-group settings with colleagues they do not choose. They will be required to independently navigate large volumes of scientific literature, searching for reliable sources of information about various drugs and clinical conditions; prioritize their tasks and hypotheses; problem solve; network and work effectively in a team environment; and evaluate the job performance of their co-workers. Although these skills are valued by the majority of science students and their potential employers, most standard university curricula are focused on delivering the course content. These standard curricula provide very few opportunities for students to work on their essential workplace skills.

Use of E-Resources by Post Graduate Students of Health Science Institutions in Bengaluru: A Study

This paper reports the extent to which e-resources are utilized by the academic community of health science institutions of Bengaluru. Besides, it aims to highlight the services offered by the Oxford Health science institution libraries and existence of various e-resources, access points of e-resources, Problems faced while accessing e-resources, purpose and frequency of accessing e-resources. A well-structured questionnaire was administered among postgraduate students of Pharmacy (M Pharm), Physiotherapy (MPT) and Nursing (MSc). The study finds that users are satisfied with the e-resources providing by Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (HELINET consortia) and infrastructure facilities providing by the oxford Health Science institutions. Also, indicates major use of e-resources was pharmacy post graduate students with more than 70% and study suggest to enhancing the use of e-resources by educating the users.

A View - Quality Education for Smart Villages & Case Study

The research paper presents how the quality of education can be enhanced for smart villages, which solves many more problems of rural area including employment. Also it focuses on the limitations of current educational system along with feedback to maintain uniformity and enhancement in quality of education. The educational system is so designed which makes the students and society self- sufficient in their future life. Engineering, medical, pharmacy and law graduates with B. Ed degree can be employed in educational sectors at various levels including teacher up to 10th standard. The quality of education can be enhanced by strengthening schools and colleges especially in private schools and colleges. It is very simple and very effective that if we enroll all the faculties and students including alumni as a part of the management by enrolling them as a member of the management, then the quality of education will come up by eliminating the limitations and lacunas of present private schools and colleges. Also because of this decision the democracy of the nation will also enhance. The industry – institute interaction will also increase and the students will get the practical knowledge during study period itself. As well as it will solve the employment problem up to get extent. By this simple principle of strengthening schools and colleges will lead to enhance the quality of value based education to serve the society and the nation. Also all villages will become self sufficient and smart livelihood with value based education. As everybody know that “The collapse of education is the collapse of the Nation, so the concept of using high merit teachers at basic level to pour value based quality education at grass root saves the nation and globe. So, it is must to develop the value based quality education from grass root itself across the nation and globe to save and serve the nation and globe very effectively. Ultimately it maintains the happy and peaceful nation and globe.

Reflecting on Studying in the UK Graduate Pharmacy School and Acquiring a Pharmacist License

Reflecting on Studying in the UK Graduate Pharmacy School and Acquiring a Pharmacist License

Preferred Learning Styles of Undergraduate and Graduate Pharmacy Students

The indices of learning styles by Felder-Soloman’s method have been studied for 188 students of the speciality Industrial Pharmacy of 1-5 years of study. The preferred learning styles for undergraduate students remain practically unchanged during four years of study and are characterised by the predominance of active (65-79% of all respondents), sensitive (82-92%), visual (75-81%) and sequential (64-73%) styles. In contrast, master’s students demonstrate more adherents of the reflective (43% graduate versus on average 29% undergraduate students), intuitive (29% vs 12%) and verbal styles (43% vs 23%). No significant changes in the dimension of sequential-global styles are observed: 70-71% of students prefer a sequential style for all five years of study. Thus, the preferences in learning styles demonstrate stability over four years of a bachelor’s course. The difference between the styles of undergraduate and graduate students is likely to emerge at a stage of the additional selection of students when they enter a master’s course. The change in the learning profile of a group of master’s students takes place compared to a group of undergraduate students rather than a variation in the preferred styles of individuals. Master’s students are generally more prone to scientific and research work that, in turn, forms a tendency to reflection and synthesis and activates various channels of perception of information, enhancing the role of reflective, intuitive and verbal styles. At the same time, no fundamental changes in learning styles are observed for individuals; their preferences remain typical for students of engineering and chemical specialities. The comparison of the learning profiles of the 3rd year students, entering the university after either secondary schools or medical colleges, provides additional arguments in favour of the importance of a selection stage in the formation of the profile of student groups. The former college students retain the preferences which have already been formed in the process of their admission and training at medical colleges and are inherent in future physicians and pharmacists. In contrast, school-leavers demonstrate preferences typical for the speciality of industrial pharmacy.