Browsing by Subject "student pharmacists"

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    Evaluation of a Continuing Professional Development program for first year student pharmacists undergoing an Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience
    (University of Minnesota, College of Pharmacy, 2011) Tofade, Toyin; Franklin, Brianna; Noell, Bennett; Leadon, Kim
    Objectives: The purpose of the study was to evaluate a live and online training program for first year pharmacy students in implementing Continuing Professional Development (CPD) principles (Reflect, Plan, Act, and Evaluate), writing SMART learning objectives, and documenting learning activities prior to and during a hospital introductory professional practice experience. Design: Cohort Study. Setting: Introductory professional practice experience. Participants: First year (PY1) students at the University of North Carolina Eshelman School of Pharmacy. Intervention: Live training or online training to introduce the concept of Continuing Professional Development in practice. Main Outcomes: Implementation of CPD principles through 1) completed pre-rotation education action plans with specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound (SMART) learning objectives; and 2) completed learning activity worksheets post-rotation indicating stimuli for learning, resources used and accomplished learning. objectives; and 3) documented suggestions and content feedback for future lectures and pharmaceutical care lab experiences. Results: Out of the whole cohort (N=154), 14 (87.5%) live (in person) trainees and 122 (88%) online trainees submitted an education action plan. Objectives were scored using a rubric on a scale of 1-5. A rating of 5 means “satisfactory”, 3 means “work in progress” and 1 means “unacceptable”. There were significant differences between the mean live trainee scores and the mean online trainee scores for the following respective section comparisons: Specific 4.7 versus 3.29 (p<0.001); Measurable 3.9 versus 2.05 (p<0.001); number of objectives 3.6 versus 4.6 (p<0.001); and average grade 92.9 versus 77.7 (p<0.001). Of the 396 learning activity worksheets reviewed, 75% selected discussion with peers and/or health providers as a stimulus for learning. Students reported spending an average of 50.2 hours completing the learning objectives. All of the pre-stated objectives were fulfilled completely or partially. Conclusion: Live trainees performed significantly better than online trainees in writing SMART learning objectives. With focused training, students are more capable of implementing principles of CPD.
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    Remember Your MEDS: Medication Education Delivers Success
    (University of Minnesota, College of Pharmacy, 2012) Rife, Kelsey M.; Ginty, Sarah E.; Hohner, Elizabeth M.; Stamper, Heather R.; Sobota, Kristen F.; Bright, David R.
    Background: Medication adherence is one of the largest barriers to better patient outcomes today. As pharmacists and student pharmacists expand their roles with community outreach projects, they have the potential to make a huge impact on improving adherence. Objective: To improve medication adherence through patient counseling and constructive resources, and to determine patient preferences of adherence tools. Methods: Student pharmacists partnered with a 340B pharmacy to promote the importance of medication adherence. Patients were counseled in an initial 10 minute session, and then given the opportunity to receive one or more of the following adherence tools: a pill box, timer, reminder refrigerator magnets, calendar stickers, refill reminder phone calls and/or text message reminders. A pre-survey was conducted to establish the patients’ baseline medication adherence using the validated ©Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (©MMAS-8). After three months, students conducted the post-survey via the ©MMAS-8 by calling the patients and asking them questions about the helpfulness of the adherence tools as well as the effectiveness of the initial counseling visit. Results: Sixty five patients with hypertension enrolled in the study, and 51 patients completed both the pre- and post-surveys. Patients improved from a 6.02 (SD +/- 1.62) average pre-score to a 6.83 (SD +/-1.25) average post score (p < 0.001). Pill boxes, text message reminders, and calendar stickers were respectively ranked as the top 3 most helpful tools studied. The refrigerator magnets were also considered helpful by most patients who used them. The timers were ranked the least helpful, mostly due to difficulty of use. Conclusion: Student pharmacists can have a positive impact on medication adherence through simple counseling and offering effective adherence tools.