Influence of Reading Material Characteristics on Study Time for Pre-Class Quizzes in a Flipped Classroom

Objective. To examine how instructor-developed reading material relates to pre-class time spent preparing for the readiness assurance process (RAP) in a team-based learning (TBL) course

Insights, Pearls, and Guidance on Successfully Producing and Publishing Educational Research

It is the collaborative responsibility of authors, reviewers, and editors to produce high-quality manuscripts that advance knowledge and educational practice. Experience with manuscript submissions to the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education reveal several areas for improvement that authors can make to increase their submission success rate during the review process. These improvements include research question justification, improved clarity and details regarding methodology, concise data and results, and a discussion that frames research findings in the context of what is already known. This paper summarizes common flaws we see in submitted manuscripts and makes suggestions on how to address these areas and improve publication success

Moving from Novice to Expertise and Its Implications for Instruction

Objective: To address the stages of expertise development, what differentiates a novice from an expert, and how the development and differences impact how we teach our classes or design the curriculum. This paper will also address the downside of expertise and discuss the importance of teaching expertise relative to domain expertise

The Flipped Classroom – From Theory to Practice in Health Professional Education

The flipped classroom is growing in popularity in health professional education. As such, instructors are experiencing various growing pains in functionalizing this model, from justifying the approach to managing time inside and outside of class to assessing impact on learning. This review focuses on some key theories that support the flipped model and translates those key theories into practice across core aspects of the flipped classroom: pre-class preparation, in-class activities, after-class activities and assessment of student learning

Strategies for Improving Learner Metacognition in Health Professional Education

Metacognition is an essential skill in critical thinking and self-regulated, lifelong learning. It is important for learners to have skills in metacognition because they are used to monitor and regulate reasoning, comprehension, and problem-solving, which are fundamental components/outcomes of pharmacy curricula. Instructors can help learners develop metacognitive skills within the classroom and experiential setting by carefully designing learning activities within courses and the curriculum. These skills are developed through intentional questioning, modeling techniques, and reflection. This article discusses key background literature on metacognition and identifies specific methods and strategies to develop learners’ metacognitive skills in both the classroom and experiential settings

An Exploratory Analysis of Personality, Attitudes, and Study Skills on the Learning Curve within a Team-based Learning Environment

Objective. To examine factors that determine the interindividual variability of learning within a team-based learning environment

Development of a Course Review Process

Objective. To describe and assess a course review process designed to enhance course quality

Effects of Coffee and Caffeine Anhydrous Intake During Creatine Loading

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of 5 d of creatine (CRE) loading alone or in combination with caffeine anhydrous (CAF) or coffee (COF) on upper and lower body strength and sprint performance. Physically active males (n=54; Mean ± SD; Age = 20.1 ± 2.1 yrs; Weight = 78.8 ± 8.8 kg) completed baseline testing, consisting of one-repetition maximum (1RM) and repetitions to fatigue (RTF) with 80% 1RM for bench press (BP) and leg press (LP), followed by a repeated sprint test of five, 10 s sprints separated by 60 s rest on a cycle ergometer to determine peak power (PP) and total power (TP). At least 72 hr later, subjects were randomly assigned to supplement with CRE (5 g creatine monohydrate, 4 times*d−1; n=14), CRE+CAF (CRE + 300 mg*d−1 of CAF; n=13), CRE+COF (CRE + 8.9 g COF, yielding 303 mg caffeine; n=13), or placebo (PLA; n=14) for 5 d. Serum creatinine (CRN) was measured prior to and following supplementation and on day six, participants repeated pre-testing procedures. Strength measures were improved in all groups (p<0.05), with no significant time × treatment interactions. No significant interaction or main effects were observed for PP. For TP, a time × sprint interaction was observed (p<0.05), with no significant interactions between treatment groups. A time × treatment interaction was observed for serum CRN values (p<0.05) that showed increases in all groups except PLA. Four subjects reported mild gastrointestinal discomfort with CRE+CAF, with no side effects reported in other groups. These findings suggest that neither CRE alone, nor in combination with CAF or COF, significantly affected performance compared to PLA

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

The usefulness of the electronic patient visit assessment (ePVA) as a clinical support tool for real-time interventions in head and neck cancer

Background: Patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) experience painful, debilitating symptoms and functional limitations that can interrupt cancer treatment, and decrease their health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The Electronic Patient Visit Assessment (ePVA) for head and neck is a web-based mHealth patient-reported measure that asks questions about 21 categories of symptoms and functional limitations common to HNC. This article presents the development and usefulness of the ePVA as a clinical support tool for real-time interventions for patient-reported symptoms and functional limitations in HNC. Methods: Between January 2018 and August 2019, 75 participants were enrolled in a clinical usefulness study of the ePVA. Upon signing informed consent, participants completed the ePVA and the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Questionnaire (QLQ) general (C30) questionnaire v3.0 (scores range from 0 to 100 with 100 representing best HRQoL). Clinical usefulness of the ePVA was defined as demonstration of reliability, convergent validity with HRQoL, and acceptability of the ePVA (i.e., >70% of eligible participants complete the ePVA at two or more visits and >70% of ePVA reports are read by providers). Formal focus group discussions with the interdisciplinary teamthat cared for patients with HNC guided the development of the ePVA as a clinical support tool. Qualitative and quantitative methods were used throughout the study. Descriptive statistics consisting of means and frequencies, Pearson correlation coefficient, and Student’s t-tests were calculated using SAS 9.4 and STATA. Results: The participants were primarily male (71%), White (76%), diagnosed with oropharyngeal or oralcavity cancers (53%), and undergoing treatment for HNC (69%). Data analyses supported the reliability (alpha =0.85), convergent validity with HRQoL scores, and acceptability of the ePVA. Participants with the highest number of symptoms and functional limitations reported significantly worse HRQoL (sumof symptoms: r=–0.50, P<0.0001; sum of function limitations: r=–0.56, P<0.0001). Ninety-two percent of participants (59 of 64) who had follow-up visits within the 6-month study period completed the ePVA at twoor more visits and providers read 89% (169 of 189) of automated ePVA reports. The use of the ePVA as aclinical support tool for real-time interventions for symptoms and functional limitations reported by patients is described in a clinical exemplar. Conclusions: This research indicates that the ePVA may be a useful mHealth tool as a clinical support tool for real-time interventions for patient-reported symptoms and functional limitations in HNC. The study findings support future translational research to enhance the usefulness of the ePVA in real world settings for early interventions that decrease symptom burden and improve the QoL of patients with HNC