Redesign of a Large Lecture Course Into a Small-Group Learning Course

Objective. To describe the redesign of a large self-care course previously delivered in a traditional lecture format to a small-group case-based course

Academic Pharmacy: Where is Our Influence?

Objective. To evaluate the talents of fellows from cohorts 1-10 of the Academic Leadership Fellows Program (ALFP)

Using the Drug Burden Index to identify older adults at highest risk for medication-related falls

Background The Drug Burden Index (DBI) was developed to assess patient exposure to medications associated with an increased risk of falling. The objective of this study was to examine the association between the DBI and medication-related fall risk. Methods The study used a retrospective cohort design, with a 1-year observation period. Participants (n=1562) were identified from 31 community pharmacies. We examined the association between DBI scores and four outcomes. Our primary outcome, which was limited to participants who received a medication review, indexed whether the review resulted in at least one medication-related recommendation (e.g., discontinue medication) being communicated to the participant's health care provider. Secondary outcomes indexed whether participants in the full sample: (1) screened positive for fall risk, (2) reported 1+ falls in the past year, and (3) reported 1+ injurious falls in the past year. All outcome variables were dichotomous (yes/no). Results Among those who received a medication review (n=387), the percentage of patients receiving at least one medication-related recommendation ranged from 10.2% among those with DBI scores of 0 compared to 60.2% among those with DBI scores ≥1.0 (Chi-square (4)=42.4, p<0.0001). Among those screened for fall risk (n=1058), DBI scores were higher among those who screened positive compared to those who did not (Means=0.98 (SD=1.00) versus 0.59 (SD=0.74), respectively, p<0.0001). Conclusion Our findings suggest that the DBI is a useful tool that could be used to improve future research and practice by focusing limited resources on those individuals at greatest risk of medication-related falls

Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Community-Based Pharmacies: A Scoping Review

As pharmacy practice shifts its focus toward population health care needs that serve public health, there is a need to understand community-based pharmacies’ contributions to the reduction in health disparities. A scoping review was conducted to identify what community-based pharmacies in the United States are doing to target racial and ethnic disparities in community-based pharmacies. Forty-two articles revealed that community-based pharmacy services addressed racial and ethnic inequities in a variety of ways, including the types of interventions employed, as well as the ethnicities and conditions of the sample populations. Future work should focus on ensuring interventions are carried out throughout pharmacy practice and accessible to all racial and ethnic minoritized populations

Incorporating a Continuing Professional Development Process into Residency Training

Continuing Professional development (CPD) has been defined as a "self-directed, ongoing, systematic and outcomes-focused approach to learning and professional development." CPD is an important process that can be used to achieve a habit of lifelong learning and competence in the profession. The CPD process includes 5 steps - reflect, plan, act, evaluate and document. It has been postulated that introducing CPD early in a pharmacist's career encourages the development of life-long learning habits. Pharmacy residents are an ideal cohort to implement CPD into their program, since their accrediting body, the American Society of Health System Pharmacists (ASHP) already encourages the use of deliberate goal identification and evaluation throughout the resident's training. We describe here the process of integrating a continuing professional development (CPD) model into a residency teaching certificate program, subsequent lessons learned and recommendations for the future. &nbsp; Type: Idea Pape

Characteristics of Postgraduate Year Two Pharmacy Residency Programs with a Secondary Emphasis on Academia

Objectives. To identify and characterize postgraduate year 2 (PGY2) pharmacy residency programs with a secondary emphasis on academia

Incorporating a Continuing Professional Development Process into Residency Training

Continuing Professional development (CPD) has been defined as a "self-directed, ongoing, systematic and outcomes-focused approach to learning and professional development." CPD is an important process that can be used to achieve a habit of lifelong learning and competence in the profession. The CPD process includes 5 steps - reflect, plan, act, evaluate and document. It has been postulated that introducing CPD early in a pharmacist's career encourages the development of life-long learning habits. Pharmacy residents are an ideal cohort to implement CPD into their program, since their accrediting body, the American Society of Health System Pharmacists (ASHP) already encourages the use of deliberate goal identification and evaluation throughout the resident's training. We describe here the process of integrating a continuing professional development (CPD) model into a residency teaching certificate program, subsequent lessons learned and recommendations for the future. &nbsp; Type: Idea Pape

Development of a new diabetes medication self-efficacy scale and its association with both reported problems in using diabetes medications and self-reported adherence

Background: Although there are several different general diabetes self-efficacy scales, there is a need to develop a self-efficacy scale that providers can use to assess patient’s self-efficacy regarding medication use. The purpose of this study was to: 1) develop a new diabetes medication self-efficacy scale and 2) examine how diabetes medication self-efficacy is associated with patient-reported problems in using diabetes medications and self-reported adherence. Patients and methods: Adult English-speaking patients with type 2 diabetes were recruited from a family medicine clinic and a pharmacy in Eastern North Carolina, USA. The patients were eligible if they reported being nonadherent to their diabetes medicines on a visual analog scale. Multivariable regression was used to examine the relationship between self-efficacy and the number of reported diabetes medication problems and adherence. Results: The diabetes medication self-efficacy scale had strong reliability (Cronbach’s alpha =0.86). Among a sample (N=51) of mostly African-American female patients, diabetes medication problems were common (6.1±3.1) and a greater number of diabetes medications were associated with lower medication adherence (odds ratio: 0.35; 95% confidence interval: 0.13, 0.89). Higher medication self-efficacy was significantly related to medication adherence (odds ratio: 1.17; 95% confidence interval: 1.05, 1.30) and inversely related to the number of self-reported medication problems (β=-0.13; P=0.006). Conclusion: Higher diabetes medication self-efficacy was associated with fewer patient- reported medication problems and better medication adherence. Assessing medication-specific self-efficacy may help to identify medication-related problems that providers can help the patients address, potentially improving adherence and patient outcomes. Keywords: diabetes, adherence, self-efficacy, literac

Fellowships in Community Pharmacy Research: Experiences of Five Schools and Colleges of Pharmacy

Objective To describe common facilitators, challenges, and lessons learned in 5 schools and colleges of pharmacy in establishing community pharmacy research fellowships. Setting: Five schools and colleges of pharmacy in the United States. Practice description: Schools and colleges of pharmacy with existing community partnerships identified a need and ability to develop opportunities for pharmacists to engage in advanced research training. Practice innovation: Community pharmacy fellowships, each structured as 2 years long and in combination with graduate coursework, have been established at the University of Pittsburgh, Purdue University, East Tennessee State University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and The Ohio State University. Evaluation: Program directors from each of the 5 community pharmacy research fellowships identified common themes pertaining to program structure, outcomes, and lessons learned to assist others planning similar programs. Results: Common characteristics across the programs include length of training, prerequisites, graduate coursework, mentoring structure, and immersion into a pharmacist patient care practice. Common facilitators have been the existence of strong community pharmacy partnerships, creating a fellowship advisory team, and networking. A common challenge has been recruitment, with many programs experiencing at least one year without filling the fellowship position. All program graduates (n = 4) have been successful in securing pharmacy faculty positions. Conclusion: Five schools and colleges of pharmacy share similar experiences in implementing community pharmacy research fellowships. Early outcomes show promise for this training pathway in growing future pharmacist-scientists focused on community pharmacy practice