Factors influencing performance on the Board Certified Psychiatric Pharmacist Examination: Passing rates and domain-level scores

The Board Certified Psychiatric Pharmacist (BCPP) specialty certification was launched by the Board of Pharmacy Specialties in 1994. Candidates for the BCPP can qualify for the examination through 3 possible pathways: practice experience (4 years) in the specialty, completion of a PGY-1 residency plus an additional 2 years of practice experience, or completion of a PGY-2 specialty residency in psychiatric pharmacy. Recent fluctuations in the passing rate raised questions as to explanatory factors. This article represents the first published comprehensive study of candidate performance on the BCPP Examination. It describes a retrospective, observational study presenting (a) statistical trends of examination passing rates for biannual cohorts over the past 5 years, as well as (b) score distributions on the 3 performance domains of the certification. Pass-rate trend analyses suggest that variation in the proportion of eligibility pathway cohorts in the respective testing samples explains some of the fluctuation in passing rates. An analysis of variance of domain-level scores, using groups defined by eligibility pathway, yielded significant differences for nearly all group comparisons. Evaluation of the effect sizes suggest that the most disparate performance was observed on the core clinical domain, Patient-Centered Care. The results of this study are consistent with previously published research and will inform the upcoming role delineation study for the Psychiatric Pharmacy Certification

American Legacy Foundation, First Look Report 11. Youth Tobacco Cessation. Results from the 2000 national youth tobacco survey

Using information from a national youth tobacco survey, this report explores tobacco cessation among yoth aged 12 to 19. It describes current smoking behavior, cessation attempts, and factors that influence youth quitting behavior. This report is based on data from the 2000 National Youth Tobacco Survey

Abstract Knowledge Management Issues and Practices: A Case Study of a Professional Services Firm

An exploratory and descriptive case study was conducted to discover knowledge management issues and practices in the Australian branch of an international professional services provider referred to as IPSF. Though the study has an operational emphasis, both macro and micro issues of knowledge management are considered; macro issues pertain to the creation of knowledge assets, while micro issues pertain to access, transfer and reuse of knowledge within the firm, and between the firm and its clients. The study takes a professional services provider-centric view. The data was gathered from interviews with IPSF staff. Interpretation focuses on gaps between the literature and observed practice