My First Patient Program to Introduce First-Year Pharmacy Students to Health Promotion and Disease Prevention

Objectives

To implement and assess the effectiveness of a program to teach pharmacy students the importance of taking personal responsibility for their health.

Design

The My First Patient Program was created and lectures were incorporated into an existing first-year course to introduce the concepts of health beliefs, behavior modification, stress management, substance abuse, and nutrition. Each student received a comprehensive health screening and health risk assessment which they used to develop a personal health portfolio and identify strategies to attain and/or maintain their personal health goals.

Assessment

Student learning was assessed through written assignments and student reflections, follow-up surveys, and course evaluations. Students'' attainment of health goals and their ability to identify their personal health status illustrated the positive impact of the program.

Conclusion

This program serves as a model for colleges and schools of pharmacy and for other health professions in the instruction of health promotion, disease prevention, and behavior modification.     

Basic life support and cardiopulmonary resuscitation training for pharmacy students and the community by a pharmacy student committee

Objective

To create a self-sufficient, innovative method for providing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) education within a college of pharmacy using a student-driven committee, and disseminating CPR education into the community through a service learning experience.

Design

A CPR committee comprised of doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) students at the University of Tennessee College of Pharmacy provided CPR certification to all pharmacy students. The committee developed a service learning project by providing CPR training courses in the community. Participants in the course were required to complete an evaluation form at the conclusion of each training course.

Assessment

The CPR committee successfully certified more than 1,950 PharmD students and 240 community members from 1996 to 2009. Evaluations completed by participants were favorable, with 99% of all respondents (n = 351) rating the training course as either “excellent” or “good” in each of the categories evaluated.

Conclusion

A PharmD student-directed committee successfully provided CPR training to other students and community members as a service learning experience.     

Women's health promotion within a community advanced pharmacy practice experience

Objective

To establish low-cost easily conducted health promotion interventions for advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) students in community pharmacy settings that would increase women''s awareness about health issues using Food and Drug Administration (FDA) educational materials.

Methods

Students distributed fact sheets on medication use, heart disease, and diabetes to women over 45 years of age at 6 community pharmacy APPE sites. Interventions completed were either personal medication records (PMR) to identify medication-related problems (MRP) or heart health screenings followed by completion of an anonymous patient satisfaction survey instrument.

Results

Over 1500 fact sheets were distributed. Fifty-eight women (age 61 ± 15 years) completed PMRs, which identified 57 MRPs in 42 patients. Twenty-four women indicated the screening was “useful/very useful” for increasing medication understanding. Sixty-three women completed heart health screenings. Thirty-one of the 40 who completed the survey instrument indicated the screening was “useful/very useful” for learning heart disease risk.

Conclusions

Community pharmacy APPE students interventions identified MRPs and patients at risk for heart disease. These health promotion interventions enhanced women''s awareness of these topics while guiding students to achieve the desired curricular outcomes.     

Pharmacy Students' Attitudes Toward a Required Public Health Course and Developing a Public Health Program

Objective

To determine pharmacy students'' attitudes towards a required public health course and developing a public health program.

Method

Two hundred ten first-year pharmacy students enrolled in a public health course at a large private pharmacy school were surveyed. A 24-item adjective rating scale and a 10-item scale were used to measure students'' attitudes towards the course and developing a public health program.

Results

Of 198 respondents, two-thirds found the course to be extremely or very appealing, of practical value, and only slightly demanding and difficult. The majority of the students indicated that establishing a public health program would be an opportunity to help the community and make a difference. Few students indicated that it would be a poor use of time or an example of busy work.

Conclusion

Pharmacy students had positive attitudes towards a required public health course and developing a public health program. Strategies to mold positive attitudes into actual behaviors of engaging in public health activities are needed.     

A Public Health Pharmacy Course at a Malaysian Pharmacy School

Objectives

To develop and implement a new course on public health into the bachelor of pharmacy (BPharm) curriculum in Malaysia.

Design

A required 2-credit-hour course was designed to provide an overview of public health pharmacy roles and the behavioral aspects of human healthcare issues. Graded activities included nursing home visits, in-class quizzes, mini-projects, and poster sessions, and a comprehensive final examination.

Assessment

The majority of the students performed well on the class activities and 93 (71.5%) of the 130 students enrolled received a grade of B or higher. A Web-based survey was administered at the end of the semester and 90% of students indicated that they had benefited from the course and were glad that it was offered. The majority of students agreed that the course made an impact in preparing them for their future role as pharmacists and expanded their understanding of the public health roles of a pharmacist.

Conclusions

A public health pharmacy course was successfully designed and implemented in the BPharm curriculum. This study highlighted the feasibilities of introducing courses that are of global relevance into a Malaysian pharmacy curriculum. The findings from the students'' evaluation suggest the needs to incorporate a similar course in all pharmacy schools in the country and will be used as a guide to improve the contents and methods of delivery of the course at our school.     

An Interprofessional Education Session for First-Year Health Science Students

Objective

To implement and evaluate the effectiveness and short-term impact of an interprofessional education (IPE) session in the first year for health sciences students representing 9 health professions.

Design

An interprofessional faculty committee created a 2½ hour introductory interprofessional education session focusing on a single patient case and 2 possible discharge scenarios. A mixed method pretest/posttest research design was used to examine changes in students'' perceptions of and attitudes toward IPE. Six follow-up focus groups also were held with students from the participating professions.

Assessment

Of 1197 health professions students enrolled, 914 students (76%) attended the IPE session. Two hundred thirty-two of 240 pharmacy students (97%) attended. Forty-three (18.5%) pharmacy students responded to the open-ended questions on the survey instrument. The most frequently reported gains from attending the session were recognition of teamwork importance to benefit the patient (30%) and understanding of other professionals'' roles (29%). Shortfalls reported by students related to the content/style of presentation (26%) and technical/organizational (23%) aspects of the session. Pharmacy students who participated in one of the focus groups stated the session demonstrated the benefits as well as facilitators and barriers to collaborative care.

Conclusion

The session served as an effective introduction to IPE; debriefing and integration with uniprofessional curricula should occur. Students need additional small group interaction with other health professional students, and can contribute as members of the planning committee.     

An Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience in Public Health

Objectives

To develop and implement an advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) that would increase students'' awareness of, acceptance of, and ability to apply public health concepts in pharmaceutical care.

Design

A 6-week APPE was developed that utilized a wide variety of activities including written assignments, role-play, direct patient care, reflective writing, and community outreach to explore various public health issues and their relation to the practice of pharmacy. To determine the students'' perception of learning, a 5-question survey instrument was sent to students upon completion of the experience

Assessment

The results of the survey indicated high satisfaction with the APPE in a variety of different domains including provision of pharmaceutical care, providing patient education, exercising cultural competency, referring to community resources, and utilizing medication assistance programs.

Conclusion

The advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) provides students a unique opportunity to develop skills important to the practice of public health and expand understanding of the role of pharmacist in the public health setting.     

An interprofessional learning module on asthma health promotion

Objective

To develop, implement, and evaluate a new interprofessional learning module that focused on asthma health promotion called Taking Action Together for Asthma.

Design

Faculty members in medicine, nursing, and pharmacy courses recruited 10 students each to participate in a 3-day interprofessional learning module. Students received extensive materials including a workbook to document their expectations and experience; completed a 1-day interprofessional workshop; received training in the Triple A (Adolescent Asthma Action) program; and went into high schools and taught the Triple A program to students in interprofessional teams.

Assessment

Before and after participating in the module, students completed a questionnaire consisting of 3 previously validated instruments: the Asthma Knowledge for Health Professionals Scale, Attitudes Toward Health Care Teams Scale, and Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS). Seventeen students completed both the pre- and post-module scales and significant changes were seen only in means scores for the Attitude Toward Healthcare Teams (81.0 ± 4.7 to 85.2 ± 5.9) and the Teamwork and Collaboration subscale of the RIPLS (41.4 ± 2.7 to 43.2 ± 2.7).

Conclusion

Health promotion activities offer a viable mechanism for fostering interprofessional learning among health professions students.     

Plaintiff or Defendant: Using Legal Cases to Teach Students Pharmacy Law

Objective

To demonstrate the value of students using actual legal cases during collaborative “breakout” sessions in a pharmacy law class.

Design

Students were broken into smaller groups and randomly assigned a legal case to arbitrate or defend. One week prior to the groups'' presentation, all students were given the facts of a case that was reflective of issues covered during the lecture component of the course. Formative assessments were utilized in addition to an overall breakout satisfaction survey administered at the end of the course.

Assessment

Overall, students felt the breakout sessions enhanced their learning environment and reinforced material covered during the didactic portion of the course. Students also recommended the breakout sessions for future pharmacy law courses.

Conclusion

Dividing a large pharmacy law class into 2 sections of 12 groups each and conducting mock trials resulted in increased student participation and interaction and deeper understanding of the course content.     

Active-learning strategies to develop health literacy knowledge and skills

Objective

To implement active-learning exercises in a required pharmacy course and assess their impact on students'' knowledge and confidence in identifying and communicating with patients with low health literacy, as part of a required course in cultural competency, health literacy, and health beliefs.

Design

Active-learning activities including administering health literacy assessments, identifying informal signs of low health literacy, conducting mock patient counseling sessions, rating the readability of drug information, analyzing information in drug advertisements, and writing patient education materials were incorporated into the 6-sesssion health literacy portion of the course.

Assessment

A pretest and posttest showed that students'' knowledge of health literacy increased, and a retrospective pretest found improvement in students'' confidence in their ability to care for patients with low health literacy. In-class discussions provided informal evidence that students gained new knowledge from the active-learning activities.

Conclusion

The addition of active-learning activities was effective in teaching health literacy concepts to pharmacy students.     

An Inservice Program on Pharmacogenetics to Individualize Drug Therapy

Objectives

To provide an understanding of the principles and applications of pharmacogenetics in drug therapy optimization.

Design

An online learning session accessed using the hospital intranet and a live case-based session were offered to hospital pharmacists, residents, students, and interns.

Assessment

Knowledge was assessed with “check your knowledge” questions, case discussions, and a follow-up questionnaire. Pharmacists evaluated the instructor and the course using an anonymous survey tool.

Conclusion

This education provided pharmacists with a basic understanding of pharmacogenetics and the ability to apply pharmacogenetics to clinical practice.     

An Elective Course in Women's Health

Objective

To design, implement, and assess a women''s health elective course for second- and third-year doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) students.

Design

A women''s health course was developed, focusing on health promotion, disease prevention, and treatment throughout a woman''s lifespan. Course format included didactic lectures, in-class activities, peer teaching, case studies, and reading assignments.

Assessment

Student performance and learning were assessed based on class participation, (graded 3 times during the semester), activities and assignments, (graded weekly), and 2 formal written assessments. Student survey results indicated perceptions of women''s health had changed in 3 ways: a realization that many diseases manifest differently in women than men, an increased awareness of numerous diseases not addressed in the required curriculum that affect women, and a greater appreciation of the physiological and pharmacokinetic differences that increase the potential for adverse drug reactions in women.

Conclusion

An elective course in women''s health was well received by PharmD students. Excellent student performance in weekly active-learning activities and class participation, however, did not translate into excellent performance on subsequent formal assessments.     

Health Promotion Integrated Into a Thai PharmD Curriculum to Improve Pharmacy Practice Skills

Objective

To implement and evaluate 5 integrated teaching modules in the fifth-year doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) curriculum to increase students'' ability to promote patients'' health as part of their pharmacy practice.

Design

Activity-based learning was added to each module: (1) a practice experience in which students provided health information and counseling to the public; (2) academic debates on current issues in pharmacy (3) journal clubs on articles from the pharmacy literature; and (4) research projects relating to ongoing faculty research on diabetes. Students on 12-week practice experiences had visits to patients in inpatient wards, outpatient clinics, and either primary care units or community pharmacies.

Assessment

Practice examinations at the end of the first semester, the average student score was above 80% as determined by preceptors in experience sites and from faculty members. Group interviews found that students were positive about the benefits of integrated teaching.

Conclusion

The integration of the teaching between modules in the same semester is possible and greatly benefits student learning.     

A Quality Improvement Activity to Promote Interprofessional Collaboration Among Health Professions Students

Objectives

To develop and evaluate a classroom-based curriculum designed to promote interprofessional competencies by having undergraduate students from various health professions work together on system-based problems using quality improvement (QI) methods and tools to improve patient-centered care.

Design

Students from 4 health care programs (nursing, nutrition, pharmacy, and physical therapy) participated in an interprofessional QI activity. In groups of 6 or 7, students completed pre-intervention and post-intervention reflection tools on attitudes relating to interprofessio nal teams, and a tool designed to evaluate group process.

Assessment

One hundred thirty-four students (76.6%) completed both self-reflection instruments, and 132 (74.2%) completed the post-course group evaluation instrument. Although already high prior to the activity, students'' mean post-intervention reflection scores increased for 12 of 16 items. Post-intervention group evaluation scores reflected a high level of satisfaction with the experience.

Conclusion

Use of a quality-based case study and QI methodology were an effective approach to enhancing interprofessional experiences among students.     

A Cultural Competency Course for Pharmacy Students

Objective

To design, implement, and evaluate a course on health promotion and literacy.

Design

Course objectives such as the development of cultural competency skills, awareness of personal biases, and appreciation of differences in health beliefs among sociocultural groups were addressed using a team-based learning instructional strategy. Student learning outcomes were enhanced using readiness assessment tests (RATs), group presentations, portfolio reflections, and panel discussions.

Assessment

Comparing precourse and postcourse Inventory for Assessing the Process of Cultural Competence among Healthcare Professionals (IAPCC-R) scores and portfolio responses indicated enhanced progress toward cultural competency. The Student Evaluation of Teaching (SET) provided suggestions for course enhancements.

Conclusions

Evidence supporting enhanced cultural competency after completing the course affirms its value as we prepare pharmacy students to provide patient-centered care in a culturally diverse world.     

Nepalese Pharmacy Students' Perceptions Regarding Mental Disorders and Pharmacy Education

Objective

To determine Nepalese pharmacy students'' perceptions of whether mental disorders impact performance in pharmacy school.

Method

All first- and third-year undergraduate pharmacy students (n=226) in Nepal were invited to complete a modified version of the Mental Illness Performance Scale.

Results

Among the 200 respondents (response rate 88.5%), 14% reported that they had a mental disorder. The majority (92%) of third-year students agreed or strongly agreed that depression would interfere with a student''s academic performance. Almost half of first-year students agreed or strongly agreed that alcohol or drug abuse would be grounds for both rejecting an applicant from pharmacy school (49%) and dismissal of a student from pharmacy school (46%).

Conclusions

Students perceived a high level of academic impairment associated with mental disorders, but the majority did not perceive that mental disorders were grounds for dismissal from or rejection of entry to pharmacy school. Students'' attitudes may discourage them from seeking help or providing mental health support to others.     

Impact of Patient Empathy Modeling on pharmacy students caring for the underserved

Objective

To determine the impact of the Patient Empathy Modeling pedagogy on students'' empathy towards caring for the underserved during an advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE).

Design

Pharmacy students completing an APPE at 2 primary care clinics participated in a Patient Empathy Modeling assignment for 10 days. Each student “became the patient,” simulating the life of an actual patient with multiple chronic diseases who was coping with an economic, cultural, or communication barrier to optimal healthcare. Students completed the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy (JSPE) before and after completing the assignment, and wrote daily journal entries and a reflection paper.

Assessment

Twenty-six students completed the PEM exercises from 2005-2006. Scores on the JSPE improved. Students'' comments in journals and reflection papers revealed 3 major themes: greater appreciation of the difficulty patients have with adherence to medication and treatment regimens, increased empathy for patients from different backgrounds and patients with medical and psychosocial challenges, and improved ability to apply the lessons learned in the course to their patient care roles.

Conclusion

A Patient Empathy Modeling assignment improved pharmacy students'' empathy toward underserved populations. Integrating the assignment within an APPE allowed students to immediately begin applying the knowledge and insight gained from the exercise.     

A Pharmacy Course on Leadership and Leading Change

Objective

To develop and implement a course that develops pharmacy students'' leadership skills and encourages them to become leaders within the profession.

Design

A leadership course series was offered to pharmacy students on 2 campuses. The series incorporated didactic, experiential, and self-directed learning activities, and focused on developing core leadership skills, self-awareness, and awareness of the process for leading change.

Assessment

Students reported increased knowledge and confidence in their ability to initiate and lead efforts for change. The learning activities students'' valued most were the StrengthsFinder assessment (67% of students rated “very useful”) and a Leadership Networking Partners (LNP) program (83% of students rated “very useful”).

Conclusion

Teaching leadership skills poses a significant challenge in curriculum development and requires multifaceted course design elements that resonate with students and engage the practice community. Addressing these requirements results in a high level of student engagement and a desire to continue the development of leadership skills.     

College/School of Pharmacy Affiliation and Community Pharmacies' Involvement in Public Health Activities

Objectives

To examine the relationship between pharmacy college/school affiliation and community pharmacies'' involvement in immunization and emergency preparedness activities.

Methods

Telephone interviews were completed with 1,704 community pharmacies randomly sampled from 17 states to determine the pharmacies'' involvement in immunization promotion, vaccine distribution, in-house immunization delivery, and health emergency preparedness and response, affiliation with college/school of pharmacy, and selected pharmacy and public health-related characteristics.

Results

Pharmacy college/school-affiliated community pharmacies were more likely than non-affiliated pharmacies to participate in immunization and emergency preparedness when controlling for pharmacy characteristics. College/school affiliation generally became nonsignificant, however, when public health-related characteristics were included in the analysis.

Conclusions

Affiliation with a college/school of pharmacy was related to community pharmacies'' involvement in immunization and emergency preparedness.