Pharmacogenomics training using an instructional software system

Objectives

To implement an elective course in pharmacogenomics designed to teach pharmacy students about the fundamentals of pharmacogenomics and the anticipated changes it will bring to the profession.

Design

The 8 sessions of the course covered the basics of pharmacogenomics, genomic biotechnology, implementation of pharmacogenetics in pharmacy, information security and privacy, ethical issues related to the use of genomic data, pharmacoepidemiology, and use and promotion of GeneScription, a software program designed to mimic the professional pharmacy environment.

Assessment

Student grades were based on completion of a patient education pamphlet, a 2-page paper on pharmacogenomics, and precourse and postcourse survey instruments. In the postcourse survey, all students strongly agreed that genomic data could be used to determine the optimal dose of a drug and genomic data for metabolizing enzymes could be stored in a safe place. Students also were more willing to submit deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) data for genetic profiling and better understood how DNA analysis is performed after completing the course.

Conclusions

An elective course in pharmacogenomics equipped pharmacy students with the basic knowledge necessary to make clinical decisions based on pharmacogenomic data and to teach other healthcare professionals and patients about pharmacogenomics. For personalized medicine to become a reality, all pharmacists and pharmacy students must learn this knowledge and these skills.     

A Motivational Interviewing Course for Pharmacy Students

Objective

To create, implement, and evaluate a pharmacy course on motivational interviewing.

Design

A 3-hour elective course was created to train doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) students in brief patient-centered motivational interviewing counseling strategies that have proven effective with the types of health issues most commonly addressed in pharmacy settings. Students were assisted in developing their skills through required readings, interactive lectures, in-class demonstrations and practice sessions, out of class skills practice, one-on-one supervision provided by doctoral level clinical health psychology students, and written reflections on each class session.

Assessment

Students demonstrated significant improvement in motivational interviewing skills and a high level of motivation for and confidence in using these skills in their future practice. Students overall assessment of the course and supervision process was highly positive.

Conclusion

This patient-centered counseling skills course was feasible and produced improvements in PharmD students'' counseling skills and increased their motivation and confidence to use motivational interviewing skills in their future communications with patients.     

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.     

A seminar course on contemporary pharmacy issues

Objectives

To implement and evaluate an innovative approach to a pharmacy seminar course intended to develop students'' presentation skills and encourage them to think critically about contemporary pharmacy issues.

Design

The instructor provided lectures intended to prepare students for their presentations. These lectures included tips on writing abstracts, learning objectives, use of visual aids, and presentation delivery. Pairs of students chose a pharmacy issue, researched their topic including identifying various strengths of evidence to support a perspective, wrote an abstract and learning objectives, prepared their visual aids, and delivered a pro/con perspective. Students also provided peer evaluations for these presentations. A personal response system was used to provide class input on the presentations.

Assessment

Ninety-five percent of the peer evaluations of the presentations were good to excellent. The overall course evaluations indicated achievement of course goals.

Conclusions

A pharmacy seminar course intended to develop student presentation skills and critical thinking about contemporary pharmacy issues was demonstrated to be successful. The “taking sides” format was an effective design for accomplishing these objectives.     

A Health Education Program for Underserved Community Youth Led by Health Professions Students

Objectives

To develop and implement a health fair and educational sessions for elementary school children led by health professions students.

Design

The structure and process were developed with elementary school administration to determine the health topics to be covered. Students and faculty members created a “hands-on,” youth-oriented health fair and interactive health educational sessions. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected on learning outcomes from the underserved child population and health professions students.

Assessment

The health fair and educational sessions increased awareness of underserved youth in the areas of critical health behaviors, purposeful education on health issues facing their community, and exposure to careers in various health professions. The activities provided meaningful learning experiences for the health professions students.

Conclusion

The health education program model is an excellent way to teach health education, communication and critical thinking skills, and service learning to health professions students.     

Influences on pharmacy students' decision to pursue a doctor of pharmacy degree

Objectives

To determine what influenced pharmacy students to pursue a career in pharmacy and how those influences varied among different racial groups.

Methods

A 30-question survey instrument was developed and administered to doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) students at the University of Georgia and Florida A&M University. Data were analyzed to identify differences between students at different institutions and of different racial groups.

Results

Most students were encouraged by someone to pursue pharmacy. Students cited encouragement by family members, pharmacists, and students as important influences. Work and volunteer experiences were also important influences. Few students were influenced by “career day” events.

Conclusions

Influences for pursuing a degree in pharmacy were remarkably similar across student groups. Public awareness campaigns that emphasize the benefits of the profession and programs that are designed to bring students into contact with the profession may be effective recruiting methods/strategies.     

Seminar Series Course to Teach Essential Knowledge and Skills Not Covered in the Traditional Pharmacy Curriculum

Objective

To create a required seminar series that instructed students in both clinical and non-clinical subjects that were often difficult to incorporate into the traditional pharmacy curriculum.

Design

A required course was developed to introduce learners to basic professional skills, contemporary information, topics, and issues surrounding and influencing pharmacy practice Students were also required to take part in a mock board examination, construct a letter of intent and curriculum vitae, and prepare a 10-minute micro-teach on a clinical topic.

Assessment

Students rated this course favorably and reported increased confidence with regards to several skill sets as well as in terms of licensing examinations.

Conclusion

Through this required course students gained a better understanding of the external issues influencing and mitigating the profession of pharmacy.     

Students' Perceptions and Satisfaction With a Web-Based Human Nutrition Course

Objectives

To assess the perceptions and satisfaction of third-year pharmacy students with a Web-based, distance-learning course, Principles of Human Nutrition, and describe the challenges faculty members encountered while implementing the course.

Design

The human nutrition course was redesigned from a traditional classroom-based format to a Web-based format. Precourse and postcourse surveys were administered to 2 consecutive classes of 120 students.

Assessment

Students gave positive feedback regarding the Web-based format and especially appreciated the flexibility the course offered. Students recommended that a hybrid Web-based/classroom-based course be developed instead of a Web-based only course.

Conclusion

A Web-based format was used to effectively deliver a course in human nutrition to third-year pharmacy students; however, implementation of the course revealed several challenges that will need to be addressed before additional Web-based courses can be added.     

Pharmaceutical Care Plan Examinations to Identify Students at Risk for Poor Performance in Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences

Objectives

To evaluate early predictors of advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) performance using either timed pharmaceutical care plan (TPCP) reports of 4 case histories or traditional lecture-based pharmacotherapy course examinations.

Methods

Statistical process control (SPC) methods were used to identify a group of third-year pharmacy students “at risk” for poor APPE performance (defined as an APPE grade point average of < 3.0). Examination scores from an integrated lecture-based pharmacotherapy sequence were used for comparison.

Results

TPCP scores but not lecture-based examination scores successfully identified 6 of 10 students who ultimately performed poorly in their APPEs.

Conclusion

Adaptation of SPC methods to assess student performance during problem-based learning (PBL) case reports is a useful technique for identifying students “at risk” for poor APPE performance.     

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.     

A Lecture About Pharmaceuticals Used in Animal Patients

Objectives

To implement a lecture on interesting and clinically relevant facts about animal patients to engage students in a veterinary therapeutics course.

Design

Active-learning methods were used to introduce students enrolled in a 2-credit-hour elective course in veterinary therapeutics to critical yet little known facts pertaining to veterinary informatics, pharmacology, pharmacotherapy, and toxicology resources.

Assessment

Precourse and postcourse learning surveys were conducted and showed that students had retained clinically relevant facts about pharmaceutical use in animal patients at the end of the course. Student performance on weekly quizzes, discussion board postings, and 2 examinations also suggested comprehension and retention of course content.

Conclusion

Using active-learning methods to educate pharmacy students in veterinary therapeutics is an effective way of preparing them to treat the “4-legged patients” they will likely encounter in community pharmacy practice.     

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.     

An Advanced Cardiovascular Pharmacotherapy Course Blending Online and Face-to-Face Instruction

Objective

To assess the effectiveness of online instruction in a cardiology pharmacotherapy elective.

Design

Eight drug-focused lectures and 6 introductory presentations were added to a cardiology pharmacotherapy course. Students completed an online quiz after each online drug-focused lecture and scores were compared to quizzes taken at the beginning and end of the course, as well as on a cardiology advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE). For online introductory presentations, students completed a quiz at the beginning of the next face-to-face session. A survey was conducted at the end of the course to obtain student feedback.

Assessment

Compared to baseline scores, student learning was demonstrated after online drug-focused lectures by higher quiz scores attained immediately after completing the lecture, at the end of the course, and at the beginning of the APPE. Furthermore, students performed better on quizzes at the beginning of face-to-face sessions if they first completed an online introductory presentation. Students expressed strong support for the online components of the course.

Conclusions

A blended learning environment with online and face-to-face instruction is an effective way to teach a cardiology pharmacotherapy elective. The online component of this course was well received by students, improved student preparation before attending class, and appeared to enhance long-term cardiovascular drug knowledge.     

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.     

Using facebook within a geriatric pharmacotherapy course

Objective

To evaluate using an Internet-based social networking site within an elective geriatric pharmacotherapy course.

Design

Thirty pharmacy students enrolled in a geriatric pharmacotherapy elective course were invited to join a closed Facebook (Facebook Inc, Palo Alto, CA) group to enhance communication among students and faculty members within the course. Creating a discussion board was the primary activity in the course. Each week, 3 students were assigned to post a healthy aging topic, and other students in the class were expected to post their comments and reactions. The healthy aging topics also were discussed during class.

Assessment

Students wrote reflections about their experiences using Facebook for the activities within this course. A survey instrument also measured students'' opinions about using Facebook for educational purposes.

Conclusion

Using Facebook allowed students to discuss topics more openly and encouraged classroom discussions of healthy aging topics.     

An Elective Course in Adult Acute Care Medicine Using a Hybrid Delivery System

Objective

To develop and assess the effectiveness of an elective course modeled after activities students encounter on internal medicine advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs).

Design

This hybrid elective course used a Web-based course management system linking pre-class lectures and assignments, classroom discussions, and projects to promote active student learning.

Assessment

Assessment of student performance was based on assignments, quizzes, and participation in classroom discussions. Students were surveyed to ascertain their opinion of the elective.

Conclusion

This elective in adult acute care medicine increased student exposure to inpatient settings and provided students additional opportunities to communicate effectively, evaluate medical literature, and think critically.     

Teaching Electrocardiogram Basics Using Dance and Movement

Objective

To implement and assess an innovative approach to teaching electrocardiogram (ECG) rhythms using dance and movement.

Design

Recognition of ECG rhythms was taught to a group of third-year pharmacy students using dance and movement via collaboration with a dance faculty member. A control group was taught using traditional pharmacy lecture and PowerPoint slides.

Assessment

A pretest and posttest were administered to both groups. There was a trend in test score improvement in the dance and movement group. After the sessions, a focus group was held to assess student perceptions using qualitative methods. Students thought the addition of dance helped them with speed of retention and recognition of ECG rhythms. Some students reported feeling out of their comfort zone.

Conclusion

Interprofessional collaboration between pharmacy and dance faculty members resulted in an innovative teaching methodology for ECG rhythms that increased test scores.     

Impact of an Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience on Students' Performance in an Advanced Practice Experience

Objective

To determine the impact of an introductory pharmacy practice experience (IPPE) on students'' clinical skills during their initial advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE).

Design

A 4-week First Steps course that focused on students developing pharmacy practice skills, clinical communications skills, and effective use of reference materials was introduced in 2006 at the end of the third-year curriculum, prior to students beginning their APPEs.

Assessment

During the third week of the first APPE, faculty members rated students'' demonstration of 9 clinical skills on a 5-point Likert scale (1 being always and 5 being never). The evaluation was performed in 2005 prior to implementation of the course (control group) and again in 2006 after implementation of the course. Students who completed the First Steps course scored better on all 9 skills and had a better average clinical skills value (2.3) compared to the control group (2.6, p < 0.01).

Conclusion

Completion of an IPPE course that focused on critical pharmacy practice aspects, clinical communication skills, and use of reference materials resulted in increased frequency of desired clinical behaviors on a subsequent APPE.