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.     

The influence of an elective introductory clinical research course on pharmacy student interest in pursuing research-based careers

Objective

To assess the impact of an elective clinical research course on second- and third-year pharmacy students'' knowledge of clinical research methods, training programs, career options, and interest in pursuing postgraduate training.

Design

A 2-credit hour elective course in clinical research was designed that included lectures, discussions, workshops, and in-class presentations related to study design and implementation, protocol synthesis, research evaluation, ethical and legal considerations, data analysis, and professional opportunities involving clinical research. Learner knowledge of these topics was assessed using several methods, including 3 assignments related to research protocol, ethical documentation, and presentation.

Assessment

A survey instrument designed to evaluate the effect the course had on pharmacy students'' knowledge of clinical research methods and interest in pursuing postgraduate training in clinical research was administered. Students who completed the elective had a greater level of familiarity with research-related topics, training options, and career opportunities (p < 0.05) and a greater interest in pursuing a career in clinical research (p < 0.05) than did students in a matched control group.

Conclusion

Taking a 2-credit hour elective course in clinical research increased pharmacy students'' interest in pursuing a career in clinical research.     

An elective course in information mastery

Objective

To design and implement an elective course in information mastery and assess its impact on students'' ability to identify information needs and formulate clinically relevant, evidence-based answers.

Design

A semester-long (15-week) elective course was offered to third-year (P3) doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) students that outlined the necessary knowledge and skills for using information mastery in evidence-based practice.

Assessment

Results of a pre- and postcourse survey instrument demonstrated an increase in students'' knowledge of information mastery and confidence in and familiarity with the practice of evidence-based medicine in pharmacy. Students who had completed the elective were able to provide higher quality search strategies and evidence-based answers to a clinical question than other P3 students, and P4 students who did not participate in the elective.

Conclusion

An elective course in information mastery improved students'' knowledge and understanding of information mastery as it pertains to practicing evidence-based medicine.     

An Elective Psychiatric Course to Reduce Pharmacy Students�� Social Distance Toward People With Severe Mental Illness

Objective

To determine whether an elective course on mental health could reduce pharmacy students’ social distance toward people with severe mental illness.

Design

Course activities included assigned readings, class discussions, student presentations, review of video and other media for examples of social distance, presentations by patients with mental illness, and visits to hospitalized patients in a variety of psychiatric settings.

Assessment

The Social Distance Scale (SDS) was administered at the beginning and end of the semester to students enrolled in the elective and to a comparator group of students not enrolled in the course. Pharmacy students who did not complete the elective had significantly higher SDS scores than students who completed the elective (18.7 vs. 15.6, p < 0.001). Students enrolled in the course had lower precourse SDS scores, were more likely than their peers to have a personal association with mental illness, and had a decrease in precourse to postcourse scores.

Conclusion

A course designed to reduce stigma towards the mentally ill can reduce pharmacy students'' social distance.     

A Drug Interactions Elective Course

Objectives

To evaluate the impact of a drug interactions elective course on student knowledge and skills.

Design

A drug interactions elective which focused on assessment and application of drug interaction information and identification and management of commonly encountered drug interactions by therapeutic category was offered to third-year PharmD students. Students were expected to (1) determine whether a given interaction was clinically significant or required pharmacist intervention, and (2) make rational, scientifically sound, practical recommendations for management of drug interactions.

Evaluation and Assessment

Assessment included course evaluations, student self-assessments, and knowledge and skills assessments. Students who completed the course were more confident in their abilities relating to drug interactions than students who did not complete the course. Students who completed the course scored significantly better in all areas of the assessment compared to students who did not complete the course. Course evaluation results were also positive.

Conclusion

A course devoted to the identification and management of drug interactions improved PharmD students'' knowledge and skills and could potentially improve the patient care they provide in the future.     

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 mental health elective to improve pharmacy students' perspectives on mental illness

Objective

To evaluate the impact of a mental health elective on pharmacy students'' perceptions and stigmatizing views of mental illness.

Design

An elective was designed that featured an advanced overview of psychopharmacology; student training in motivational interviewing; a presentation by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) local chapter; introduction to pharmacy collaborations with peer support specialists, social workers, and psychiatrists; mock patient counseling sessions; and a required psychiatric patient interview at a local community mental health center.

Assessment

A survey instrument with 17 Likert-scale items was constructed to measure 2 distinct areas: social distance and stigmatizing views. The survey instrument was administered at the beginning and end of the spring 2010 semester to pharmacy students enrolled in the mental health elective course and to a control group of pharmacy students enrolled in an unrelated clinical elective. The course had a positive impact on pharmacy students'' perceptions of mental illnesses. Students'' social distance and stigmatizing views of mental illnesses improved, while no significant change in views occurred among students in the control group.

Conclusion

Advanced training in psychiatric medicine and exposure to mental health care are vital to prepare pharmacy students to provide unbiased, patient-centered care to this population.     

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.     

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.     

Elective course in acute care using online learning and patient simulation

Objective

To enhance students’ knowledge of and critical-thinking skills in the management of acutely ill patients using online independent learning partnered with high-fidelity patient simulation sessions.

Design

Students enrolled in the Acute Care Simulation watched 10 weekly Web-based video presentations on various critical care and advanced cardiovascular pharmacotherapy topics. After completing each online module, all students participated in groups in patient-care simulation exercises in which they prepared a pharmacotherapeutic plan for the patient, recommended this plan to the patient''s physician, and completed a debriefing session with the facilitator.

Assessment

Students completed a pretest and posttest before and after each simulation exercise, as well as midterm and final evaluations and a satisfaction survey. Pharmacy students significantly improved their scores on 9 of the 10 tests (p ≤ 0.05). Students’ performance on the final evaluation improved compared with performance on the midterm evaluation. Overall, students were satisfied with the unique dual approach to learning and enjoyed the realistic patient-care environment that the simulation laboratory provided.

Conclusion

Participation in an elective course that combined self-directed Web-based learning and hands-on patient simulation exercises increased pharmacy students’ knowledge and critical-thinking skills in acute care.     

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.     

Pharmacy students' knowledge, attitudes, and evaluation of direct-to-consumer advertising

Objectives

To assess pharmacy students'' knowledge, attitudes, and evaluation of direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA).

Methods

A cross sectional, self-administered, 106-item survey instrument was used to assess first, second, and third professional year pharmacy students'' knowledge about DTCA regulations, attitudes toward DTCA, and evaluation of DTC advertisements with different brief summary formats (professional labeling and patient labeling) and in different media sources (print and television).

Results

One hundred twenty (51.3%) of the 234 students enrolled participated in the study. The mean percentage knowledge score was 48.7% ± 12.5%. Based on the mean scores per item, pharmacy students had an overall negative attitude toward DTC advertisements. Students had an overall negative attitude toward television and print advertisements using the professional labeling format but an overall positive attitude toward the print advertisement using the patient labeling format.

Conclusions

Lectures discussing DTC advertising should be included in the pharmacy curriculum.     

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.     

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.     

A Service-Learning Elective in Native American Culture, Health and Professional Practice

Objectives

To evaluate the success of an elective course in Native American culture, health, and service-learning in fostering interest in experiences and careers with the USPHS Indian Health Service (IHS), and in shaping reflective practitioners.

Design

Students conducted readings, kept reflective journals, and engaged in discussions with Native American and non-Native American speakers. Students orally presented a Native American health issue and spent their fall break in Chinle, Ariz, providing social and healthcare services to the Diné under the supervision of IHS pharmacists. Opportunities for additional IHS experiences were discussed, as was discerning the Creator''s call to a professional life of service.

Assessment

Thirteen of 15 students who had completed the service-learning course by January 2007 responded to a brief survey indicating that not only were the course objectives met, but the experiences had a lasting impact on professional mindset and career plans.

Conclusion

The course had a lasting impact on students'' understanding of Native American social and health care issues, and on how they will practice their profession and live their lives.     

An elective course on lifestyle modifications in pharmacotherapy

Objectives

Develop and implement a pharmacy course explaining basic lifestyle modification components and assess changes in student knowledge, skills, beliefs, and confidence after completing the course.

Design

A 2-credit hour elective course was offered to pharmacy students in which basic lifestyle modification components were applied to case-based patients with hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus, obesity, and metabolic syndrome in the pharmacy practice setting through comprehensive wellness programs. Knowledge, skills, beliefs, and confidence assessments were embedded into the course.

Assessment

There were significant improvements in students'' skills and confidence, and in most knowledge areas, but not in their beliefs regarding health behaviors.

Conclusion

Implementing an elective course on lifestyle modifications is an effective means of teaching students about wellness and disease prevention.     

An Elective Course on Landmark Trials to Improve Pharmacy Students' Literature Evaluation and Therapeutic Application Skills

Objectives

To determine the impact of a landmark trials elective course on pharmacy students'' attitudes toward evidence-based medicine, students'' comfort with technical concepts used in drug literature, and students'' perceptions of accessibility of PubMed from home computers.

Design

An elective course which gave third-year pharmacy students the opportunity to discuss landmark trials in primary care and reinforced skills in applying evidence from the primary literature to support therapeutic recommendations was design and implemented. The impact of the course was evaluated via a pre- and postcourse questionnaire administered during 3 consecutive course offerings.

Assessment

Overall, students had positive attitudes toward evidence-based medicine before taking the course (97.5% positive or somewhat positive) and these attitudes were unchanged postcourse (p = 0.74). Though 97.6% (n = 40) of students had Internet access at home, only 68.3% (n = 28) indicated having PubMed access at home. The course increased self-assessed comfort with technical concepts used in literature evaluation including random assignment (p < 0.01), placebo-controlled (p < 0.01), and intention-to-treat (p = 0.02).

Conclusion

An elective course on landmark trials allowed third-year pharmacy students to increase their comfort level with literature evaluation and reinforced their positive attitudes toward the use of evidence-based medicine in pharmacy practice.     

An Evidence-based Elective on Dietary Supplements

Objective

To implement and evaluate the effectiveness of a pharmacy elective on dietary supplements that emphasized evidence-based care.

Design

A 3-credit elective that employed both traditional lectures and a variety of active-learning exercises was implemented. The course introduction provided a background in dietary supplement use and evidence-based medicine principles before addressing dietary supplements by primary indication.

Assessment

Student learning was assessed through quizzes, case assignments, discussion board participation, and completion of a longitudinal group project. Precourse and postcourse surveys were conducted to assess students'' opinions, knowledge, and skills related to course objectives.

Conclusion

The course was an effective way to increase students'' knowledge of dietary supplements and skills and confidence in providing patient care in this area.     

Assessment of anticoagulation management in a simulated ambulatory care clinic

Objectives

To assess the effectiveness of adding a simulated anticoagulation clinic practical examination for formal assessment of PharmD students'' skills.

Design

A practical examination requiring students to review a mock medical record and role-play a follow-up anticoagulation clinic visit with a standardized patient was designed. Students assessed the patient''s vital signs, laboratory values, and subjective complaints during an in-depth interview and documented clinical recommendations in a progress note.

Assessment

Student feedback indicated that the simulated clinic was pertinent to preparation for experiential rotations. Ninety-five percent of the students recommended that it be continued as a required component of the course.

Conclusion

The simulated ambulatory care clinic exercise reinforces principles of anticoagulation management as well as the assessment of clinical data, performance of a patient interview, and written documentation of recommendations.