Education case study reports reflection on teaching strategies for pharmacy students

Introduction: Teaching should meet the needs of all types of learner present in the class room; the activist, the reflector, the theorist and the pragmatist who also have diverse backgrounds, levels of education and are from different age groups. Aim: The aim of the four projects was to improve students’ engagement and success. Method: New teaching strategies were trialled to improve students’ engagement and successes with topics which according to their feedback were considered ‘dry’. The author utilised techniques such as flipping the class-room, simulation, case or problem based learning; and group work replacing traditional lectures. First, third and fourth year students were asked to prepare for the in-class activities at home using the lectures or simulation software. Results: The strategies were effective in a small class size of 15-20 students, with improved attendance and participation, improved fail/pass rate and number of students achieving credit or pass; however there was no significant change in the number of students achieving high distinction or distinction. Evaluation: Reproducibility is an important part of the experiment to demonstrate that the results can be trusted. Success with one or two cohorts is not sufficient to adopt a method of teaching. Ongoing evaluation is essential to eliminate cohort-related effects prior to implementation. It is not clear if the achieved results would be achievable in larger classes due to the reduction in student: lecturer ratio and limitation of class room time to allow all students to participate

Systematic review of the efficacy of pharmacological treatment alone vs. psychotherapy alone or the combination of both in the treatment of depressive disorders

Depression is a challenging condition to treat especially where the efficacy of the current types of treatments has been in debate for decades. The aim of this review was to compare the effectiveness of medications to psychotherapy interventions and the combination of both interventions in the treatment of depression. This was conducted by evaluating the evidence from studies that investigated the efficacy of alone interventions and dual therapy to identify the best course of treatment for depression. Twenty studies were selected of which ten were directly compared pharmacotherapy with psychotherapy and a further ten compared the combination of both to either of the two monotherapies. The results showed that in either of monotherapies cohorts, the rates of response, remission and changes in symptom severity were near equivalent for both but dropout rates were higher for the medications groups. Comparing dual therapy to the monotherapies showed higher efficacy in terms of response, remission and reduction of symptom severity for combination. The difference however seen less with pharmacotherapy and showed psychotherapy being least effective but the difference was in efficacy is small in the majority of the studies, to a point in which the question of‘is the difference clinically significant’ remained unanswered which require more definitive future research

Assessing knowledge, perception and attitudes about antibiotics among final year pharmacy undergraduates in Sri Lanka

Objective: Anti-microbial resistance has become a global problem especially in developing countries. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of socio-demographic predictors amongst final year pharmacy undergraduates in Sri Lanka on their knowledge, perception and attitudes regarding antibiotic use.Methods: A questionnaire-based study involved final year pharmacy students from four public universities in Sri Lanka. Data on knowledge, attitudes and perception about the appropriate use of antibiotics were analysed. Ethics approval was granted by the university of Ruhuna Sri Lanka.Results: There was good general knowledge of antibiotics (mean=15.57), however, 46% said metronidazole is not an antibiotic, 82% said that the use of antibiotics speed-up the recovery from the common cold. Perception (p=0.033) and attitudes (p=0.028) of respondents from urban area were significantly higher than that of those from rural area.Conclusion: Clinical education for pharmacy undergraduates should have an in-depth focus on the rational of antibiotics use in Sri Lanka

Academic anxiety and its effects on academic performance

Academic anxiety is a well-established, significant predictor of academic performance. Students with high levels of anxiety are unable to perform at the best of their ability. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent of academic anxiety and its effects on academic performance and explore if social and family sources of anxiety have effects on academic performance. This was a cross-sectional study design utilising questionnaire based on pre-validated tools was used to determine the extent of academic anxiety and evaluate its effect on students with high and low academic performance. A sample of 132 pharmacy undergraduates from stages 3 and 4 enrolled at the University of Wolverhampton, participated in this project. Academic performance was significantly associated with factors such as test anxiety, academic competence and time management skills. A high proportion of the study population indicated low academic performance due to perceived course load and amount of study material assigned for each examination. A positive relationship was observed between social and family sources of anxiety and academic performance and stressors. This study also demonstrated that demographic variables, such as family history of anxiety and different stages may have positive or negative effect on academic performance. This study revealed the high level of academic anxiety among the MPharm undergraduates study sample and identified some influential sources which need to be addressed to improve students’ experience. It is important to develop strategies to facilitate students coping strategies and skills with academic life in order to improve future performance

Stress levels during the journey of cancer treatment

A patient’s journey with cancer may cause psychological disorders or exacerbate existing conditions. The field of psycho-oncology has found ways to link psychological disorders to cancer and research the effects of mental disorders on patient outcome and wellbeing. This review looked at current literature in the field of psycho-oncology to understand how the stress level changes during the patient’s treatment journey. A search was performed to identify relevant published articles on electronic databases, including PubMed, ScienceDirect and Web of Science. The results demonstrate a direct link between cancer diagnosis and increased stress, depression and anxiety within patients, not as medication side-effects. These levels reduce over time, mainly due to patient acceptance coupled with either improved prognosis, or acceptance of death. Stress is complex and can precipitate a range of psychological disorders. Early psychological, counselling and even in some cases coaching interventions, could work preventively to help cancer patients more effectively to manage their stress, thereby promoting their greater wellbeing. Additionally, early diagnosis of mental disorders is crucial to improving long-term outcomes, therefore, the need for adequate psychological screening services in oncology patients for mental illness should be routine practice

Changes in anxiety levels through the education years in the MPharm programme

Objective: Over 8.2 million people were affected by anxiety in the UK in 2013 and it is currently the world has most experienced mental health disorder. Previous research has indicated that a rising level of anxiety in higher education students is resulting in decreased academic success and progress. This research explores student’s perceptions of whether anxiety levels change throughout their course, whether it improves or worsens from the first year to the final year in the course and its effect on academic achievements. Methods: A survey-based approach was taken with questionnaires handed out to students in their 4th year of the MPharm programme at the University of Wolverhampton. Results: Fifty completed questionnaires were analysed by age, gender and ethnicity in order to identify patterns and trends. The results were in conformity with previous research findings that anxiety severity increases through education years and it is affecting educational performance and progress. There were68% of all students who participated stated they were currently experiencing anxiety and 86% of those stating their anxiety was now worse than it was in their sixth form years. On average, participants chose a minimum of four factors that triggered anxious episodes; 36% of participants stated that anxiety affected their grades all of the time and 44% were affected during written exams only. Conclusion: This study suggests further research into anxiety is needed to address this growing phenomenon and mechanisms are needed in order to accommodate the needs of students who are affected

Pharmaceuticals in the tropics: A quantitative study measuring changes in quantity of the active ingredient and microbiological growth

Global climate change is challenging for the pharmaceutical industry as it is for all other industries, where they have to select packaging that keep their products stable. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of a tropical environment on pharmaceutical preparations in repackaged containers using the drug in the original container as control. This study concluded that in a tropical environment, some immediate release medications, underwent significant changes in their physical characteristics, and a less significant loss of efficacy. Bacterial and fungal growth inside and outside packages used in re-packaging and on the tablet surface occurred after four weeks. To improve patient adherence, multiple-dose compartment dose administration aids are used to alleviate the risk of patients’ non-adherence due to the regimen complexity of chronic disease therapy. On discharge, hospitals dispense between three and seven days’ supply of medication, usually in plastic bottles or sometimes plastic bags, as a cost-saving measure. Re-packaging of medications is currently common practice, to personalizes medication for individual patients. This preliminary study demonstrated that products stored in tropical conditions, changed in their characteristics and gained microbial contamination during the process or repacking. Further research is required to fully characterize the problem

Pharmacists’ essential knowledge on cognitive impairment in the elderly population

Background: There are various factors which can lead to irreversible, reversible cognitive impairments. The progression of reversible cognitive disorders can be halted by identifying and treating the underlying cause. Aim of the Review: To expand pharmacists’ knowledge on underlying causes of cognitive impairment and investigate the possibility of pharmacist involvement in the identification of and/or protection against cognitive impairment. Method: A search of the literature was conducted through databases to identify studies in the English language of 1975-2016. Peer-reviewed articles and informational websites were included. Results: There are two broad classifications of cognitive impairment, irreversible and reversible cognitive impairment. Pharmacists can play an essential role in early detection of cognitive impairment caused by medications. Conclusion: Pharmacists have the potential to lead early detection of cognitive impairment caused by medications through appropriate management of the underlying problem. This may contribute to patients’ better health outcomes and quality of life