Beneficial effects of non-herbal supplements on patients with diabetes.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Controlling glycemic levels is crucial for patients with diabetes mellitus to improve their disease management and health outcomes. Beyond lifestyle modification and pharmacotherapy, some supplements have been shown to lower blood glucose as well as mitigate diabetic complications. METHODS: Information was primarily gathered by employing various PubMed scholarly articles for real-world examples in addition to data extraction from supplementary manuscripts. Only original human trials were used, and those published within the past two decades were primarily chosen. However, background information may contains review articles. RESULTS: Some non-herbal supplements have been suggested to lower fasting blood glucose, postprandial glucose, glycated glucose (HbA1c), lipid profiles, oxidative stress, and inflammation, as well as improving body composition, insulin sensitivity, blood pressure, and nephropathy. CONCLUSION: This review discusses ten non-herbal supplements that have been reported to have beneficial effects among different types of patients with diabetes as well as potential future clinical application. However, more long-term studies with a larger amount and more diverse participants need to be conducted for a robust conclusion. Also, mechanisms of action of antidiabetic effects are poorly understood and need further research.

COVID-19 vaccine status and hesitancy in pharmacy students.

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this research is to determine pharmacy students' immunization status and attitudes towards receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. It will help determine if education is needed to increase the vaccination rate and, if so, what areas to target. The study will also provide insight into vaccine hesitancy among pharmacy students. METHODS: In April 2021, a survey was sent to pharmacy students in professional years 1, 2, 3, and 4 at Western New England University in Springfield, Massachusetts. Information gathered included if the student had received and completed the vaccine series, why the student was motivated to receive the vaccine, or why they were hesitant, along with work and experiential rotation information. RESULTS: The response rate to the survey was 63% (133 of 212). Eighty-six percent of the respondents were at least partially vaccinated against COVID-19. Four percent of respondents were not considering receiving the vaccine, 6% were, and another 4% were undecided. Unvaccinated students attributed their hesitancy mostly to being concerned about the vaccine's long-term effects (85%) followed by not wanting to miss an exam/class (23%). Vaccinated students were more likely to work at a site that administered the COVID-19 vaccine (81.6% vs. 50%, P = .003). CONCLUSIONS: Despite the pandemic, COVID-19 vaccination rates were not higher than voluntary influenza vaccination rates. This study indicates that despite pharmacy students being witness to the risks associated with the pathogen, additional education is needed, and health care providers are not immune to misinformation and hesitancy.

Examining the Relationship Between Biometric Indicators and Pharmacy Students' Academic Performance.

Objective. To use a fitness tracking device to track student wellness habits, specifically number of steps, activity, and sleep duration, in an attempt to identify relationships between these variables and academic performance outcomes such as examination scores and course grades. Methods. A fitness tracker was issued to second professional year Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) students to track their daily number of steps, activity levels, and minutes of sleep. Individual data from these devices were collected using a cloud-based data aggregation platform. The outcome variables of interest were student grade point average (GPA) in core courses, as well as examination grades for 17 examinations administered across eight required courses during the study period. After exploratory analyses, the primary research questions relating steps and sleep to academic performance were addressed with a series of linear regression models. Results. No significant, identifiable relationships were found between examination grades or course GPA and the variables of interest. There was a significant negative relationship between the number of steps students took 72-hours before an examination and performance on the examination where students in the low activity group significantly outperformed those in the high activity group by an average of two points. Participants took an average of 1,466 fewer steps prior to an examination. Conclusion. Sleep and physical activity were not robust predictors of examination scores and course grades in this cohort of PharmD students. While the fitness tracker served as an impetus for the students to be more cognizant of their activity, the capital expenditure for the devices did not result in improved academic performance.

Design Considerations of a Compounded Sterile Preparations Course.

OBJECTIVE: To design a comprehensive learning and assessment environment for the practical application of compounded sterile preparations using a constructivist approach. DESIGN: Compounded Sterile Preparations Laboratory is a required 1-credit course that builds upon the themes of training aseptic technique typically used in health system settings and threads application of concepts from other courses in the curriculum. Students used critical-thinking skills to devise appropriate strategies to compound sterile preparations. ASSESSMENT: Aseptic technique skills were assessed with objective, structured, checklist-based rubrics. Most students successfully completed practical assessments using appropriate technique (mean assessment grade=83.2%). Almost all students passed the practical media fill (98%) and gloved fingertip sampling (86%) tests on the first attempt; all passed on the second attempt. CONCLUSION: Employing a constructivist scaffold approach to teaching proper hygiene and aseptic technique prepared students to pass media fill and gloved fingertip tests and to perform well on practical compounding assessments.

The impact of an immersive elective on learners' understanding of lifestyle medicine and its role in patients' lives.

OBJECTIVE: To design an immersive, active learning, lifestyle medicine (LM) elective and evaluate its impact on a pharmacy learners' ability to understand the challenges of implementing lifestyle changes. DESIGN: A 3-credit elective was developed that incorporated goal setting and immersion into the realm of LM as experienced by both the patient and the practitioner. Learners were assessed via a survey instrument, formal assignments, reflections, and the Presidential Fitness Challenge. ASSESSMENT: Learners reported that their ability to initiate LM as a primary intervention within a care plan significantly increased after taking this course. They also improved their overall health. CONCLUSION: By identifying and implementing self-identified lifestyle modifications, learners increased confidence in their abilities to produce evidence-based outcomes for patients. Learners were able to understand the challenges of trying to change their daily habits as they undertook their own personal goals.

An active learning complementary and alternative medicine session in a self-care therapeutics class.

OBJECTIVE: To provide an interactive, non-supplement based complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) session in a self-care therapeutics class and to evaluate the effect of the session on pharmacy students' perceptions and knowledge of CAM. DESIGN: Second professional year pharmacy students enrolled in a required 3-credit course titled Self-Care Therapeutics participated in an active learning session on CAM. Students physically engaged in 5 separate active learning CAM sessions including massage therapy, Tai Chi, yoga, progressive muscle relaxation, and Reiki. ASSESSMENT: Students were assessed on both knowledge and perception of CAM. Concept mastery was assessed using a written examination and individual readiness assurance tests (iRAT) and team readiness assurance tests (tRAT). Perception of CAM was measured using both a presession and a postsession survey. CONCLUSION: Participating in an intensive, active learning CAM session provided an opportunity to increase students' knowledge of CAM and an effective strategy for providing the learner with the experience to better envision incorporation into patient therapies.