Assessing student pharmacist impact on patient over-the-counter medication selection.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the financial and clinical outcomes of an over-the-counter (OTC) medication consultation performed by doctorate of pharmacy student pharmacists in a community pharmacy. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. SETTING: Independent and chain community pharmacy locations in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. PARTICIPANTS: Fourth professional year (PY4) advanced experiential student pharmacists on community rotations at the designated settings who performed OTC consultations and the participants of these encounters. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURED: Financial and clinical impact of an OTC consultation performed by student pharmacists on rotation. RESULTS: A total of 559 OTC consultations were offered in 5 participating community pharmacy settings over a period of 1 year. Student pharmacists initiated 62.4% of all documented interactions and 60.5% of all participants accepted the consultation offer. The student pharmacists' OTC recommendations resulted in significant cost savings to the participant. Those participants accepting consultation reported being more likely to consult with a pharmacist in the future. PY4 students were also able to demonstrate capability in impacting clinical outcomes on several occasions by implementing OTC medication changes due to patient safety concerns. CONCLUSION: Student pharmacist OTC consultations have the potential to positively impact both financial and clinical outcomes associated with the use of OTC medications.

The impact of elective active-learning courses in pregnancy/lactation and pediatric pharmacotherapy.

OBJECTIVE: To implement and evaluate the impact of 2 elective courses, Pregnancy & Lactation and Pediatrics on student acquisition of knowledge and development of lifelong learning skills related to these special populations. DESIGN: Two 3-credit elective courses were implemented using various student-driven learning techniques, such as case-based exercises, group presentations, pro-con debates, and pharmacist "grab bag" questions. Strong emphasis was placed on medication literature retrieval and analysis, and a wiki was used to create an electronic resource for longitudinal use. ASSESSMENT: Pre- and post-course tests showed significant improvement in knowledge related to pregnancy, lactation, and pediatrics. Pre- and post-course confidence and ratings on satisfaction survey tools also revealed significant improvement in several domains relating to lifelong-learning skills, knowledge related to medication use within these special populations, use of technology to enhance learning, and overall course design. CONCLUSION: The combination of student-directed learning techniques used in 2 pediatric-concentration courses is an effective teaching model.