Pharmacists' perceptions of a live continuing education program comparing distance learning versus local learning.

BACKGROUND: Constraints in geography and time require cost efficiencies in professional development for pharmacists. Distance learning, with its growing availability and lower intrinsic costs, will likely become more prevalent. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this nonexperimental, postintervention study was to examine the perceptions of pharmacists attending a continuing education program. One group participated in the live presentation, whereas the second group joined via a simultaneous webcast. METHODS: After the presentation, both groups were surveyed with identical questions concerning their perceptions of their learning environment, course content, and utility to their work. Comparisons across group responses to the summated scales were conducted through the use of Kruskal-Wallis tests. RESULTS: Analysis of the data showed that both the distance and local groups were demographically similar and that both groups were satisfied with the presentation method, audio and visual quality, and both felt that they would be able to apply what they learned in their practice. However, the local group was significantly more satisfied with the learning experience. CONCLUSIONS: Distance learning does provide a viable and more flexible method for pharmacy professional development, but does not yet replace the traditional learning environment in all facets of learner preference.

Professional development webinars for pharmacists.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate pharmacists' satisfaction with and reasons for enrolling in a series of continuing education webinars. DESIGN: Webinars intended to provide timely and practical information for practicing pharmacists on a specific therapeutic area were created and presented monthly throughout 2011. ASSESSMENT: Survey responses of volunteers who completed at least 1 webinar were positive regarding the quality of the programming and the method of delivery. No significant differences were found in demographics or reasons for enrolling between participants who completed a single webinar and those who completed 2 or more. CONCLUSIONS: While the webinars received positive evaluations for quality, value, and relevance, the limited average number of webinars attended by each pharmacist was a concern, and several tactics will be implemented to address scheduling conflicts and other deterrents to repeat participation.

Overview of biostatistics used in clinical research.

PURPOSE: A brief overview is given of the types of statistical tests that are available to analyze pharmacy research data. SUMMARY: The most important aspect of selecting the correct statistical test is defining the types of variables being analyzed. Variables that are controlled or determined by the researcher are referred to as independent variables. Dependent variables are those that are observed and are out of the researcher's control. There are two types of random error that exist with inferential statistics: rejecting a null hypothesis (H(0)) when it is true and failing to reject H(0) when it is false. There are two primary ways to interpret the significance of results from an inferential statistical test: (1) creation of a confidence interval and determination of whether a value falls within the interval and (2) calculation of a ratio and determination of whether the resultant value exceeds an established critical value. Student's t test is one of the simplest inferential tests and can be used to illustrate both the confidence interval and the ratio approaches to evaluating sample data. The p value indicates the amount of error that can exist if the researcher chooses to reject H(0). Parametric tests require two additional assumptions in order to be applied correctly. Some examples of these include the two-sample t test and the paired t test. Nonparametric tests are designed for small sample sizes and are easy to calculate. These tests use the median as the measure of center. Some examples of nonparametric tests include the chi-square test and the Fisher exact test. Other statistical tests that are available to help the pharmacist researcher include equivalency testing, survival statistics, and noninferiority studies. CONCLUSION: Selection of the proper statistical test depends on the type and number of variables and whether parametric conditions are met.

Preparing for the first meeting with a statistician.

PURPOSE: Practical statistical issues that should be considered when performing data collection and analysis are reviewed. SUMMARY: The meeting with a statistician should take place early in the research development before any study data are collected. The process of statistical analysis involves establishing the research question, formulating a hypothesis, selecting an appropriate test, sampling correctly, collecting data, performing tests, and making decisions. Once the objectives are established, the researcher can determine the characteristics or demographics of the individuals required for the study, how to recruit volunteers, what type of data are needed to answer the research question(s), and the best methods for collecting the required information. There are two general types of statistics: descriptive and inferential. Presenting data in a more palatable format for the reader is called descriptive statistics. Inferential statistics involve making an inference or decision about a population based on results obtained from a sample of that population. In order for the results of a statistical test to be valid, the sample should be representative of the population from which it is drawn. When collecting information about volunteers, researchers should only collect information that is directly related to the study objectives. Important information that a statistician will require first is an understanding of the type of variables involved in the study and which variables can be controlled by researchers and which are beyond their control. Data can be presented in one of four different measurement scales: nominal, ordinal, interval, or ratio. Hypothesis testing involves two mutually exclusive and exhaustive statements related to the research question. Statisticians should not be replaced by computer software, and they should be consulted before any research data are collected. CONCLUSION: When preparing to meet with a statistician, the pharmacist researcher should be familiar with the steps of statistical analysis and consider several questions related to the study to be conducted.

Validation of a formula for assigning continuing education credit to printed home study courses.

OBJECTIVES: To reevaluate and validate the use of a formula for calculating the amount of continuing education credit to be awarded for printed home study courses. METHODS: Ten home study courses were selected for inclusion in a study to validate the formula, which is based on the number of words, number of final examination questions, and estimated difficulty level of the course. The amount of estimated credit calculated using the a priori formula was compared to the average amount of time required to complete each article based on pharmacists' self-reporting. RESULTS: A strong positive relationship between the amount of time required to complete the home study courses based on the a priori calculation and the times reported by pharmacists completing the 10 courses was found (p < 0.001). The correlation accounted for 86.2% of the total variability in the average pharmacist reported completion times (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The formula offers an efficient and accurate means of determining the amount of continuing education credit that should be assigned to printed home study courses.

A comparison of the acceptability and effectiveness of two methods of distance education: CD-ROM and audio teleconferencing.

OBJECTIVES: To fulfill a need for convenient and effective continuing education for pharmacists throughout Wisconsin by developing a pharmacy continuing education program using 2 different methods for distance education: audio teleconferencing and CD-ROM. METHODS: Eighty pharmacists were recruited from a 2003 University of Wisconsin distance education program, 47 of whom participated in the course using the traditional audio teleconference method, and 33 of whom participated using a home study CD-ROM containing the same material presented in the teleconference. Volunteers were required to complete a pretest, a first posttest immediately following completion of the continuing education course, a second posttest 1 month following the conclusion of the course, and an evaluation. RESULTS: The CD-ROMs were a more acceptable method for distance education than audio teleconferencing and resulted in better retention of the course information. CONCLUSION: These study results can help coordinators of continuing pharmaceutical education programs to determine the most effective and acceptable method for future distance-education opportunities.

Assessing parallelism prior to determining relative potency.

In the course of preparing a revision to Chapter (111) of the U.S. Pharmacopeia, the revision committee came to a unanimous agreement that the method for assessing parallelism that is currently presented in (111) and in the European Pharmacopeia's Chapter 5.3 is flawed and should be replaced. The symptoms are that perfectly acceptable assay results may fail due to good precision and that obviously faulty assay results may pass due to poor precision. The flaw is that the wrong statistical technique has been used. We propose an alternative approach based on the equivalence testing paradigm that does not have these shortcomings. Equivalence testing requires the establishment of equivalence limits. Specific approaches for establishing equivalence limits are discussed.