Evaluation of pharmacy students' self-efficacy and performance in applying components of the Pharmacists' Patient Care Process within a capstone course and during advanced pharmacy practice experiences.

INTRODUCTION: Capstone courses are ideal for reinforcing and assessing the Pharmacists' Patient Care Process (PPCP). The purpose of this study was to assess pharmacy students' (1) self-efficacy in applying PPCP components before and after a capstone course, (2) performance in applying PPCP components in several assignments, and (3) self-efficacy in applying the PPCP during advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs). METHODS: Student evaluation included: (1) electronic surveys to assess students' self-efficacy in applying three components of the PPCP (Collect, Assess, and Plan) via a pre-/retrospective pre-/post-survey design, (2) course evaluations, and (3) an electronic survey to assess students' self-efficacy in applying the PPCP after completing five APPEs. Faculty evaluation included rubrics assessing performance in applying the PPCP model given patient cases. Descriptive statistics, paired t-tests, and mixed-effects linear modeling were conducted. RESULTS: Sixty-four students participated in the course during spring 2018. The sum mean self-efficacy scores for the PPCP components significantly improved between the beginning and end of the course (P < .05). There was a significant increase in evaluators' ratings of students' ability to apply the PPCP (P < .05). The sum mean self-efficacy scores for the PPCP components did not change significantly between the end of the course and after completion of five APPEs, except for a few specific items. CONCLUSIONS: A capstone course integrating the PPCP in patient case assignments resulted in improved student performance and self-efficacy in applying three PPCP components (Collect, Assess, and Plan). Students' self-efficacy remained consistent after the course concluded and during APPEs.

Student Performance with Standalone Calculations Course vs Combined Pharmaceutics-Calculations Course.

Objective. To determine whether a standalone pharmacy calculations course promotes student performance and retention when compared to pharmacy calculations taught within a pharmaceutics course. Methods. Data were compared between two groups of student pharmacists (those who took the combined pharmaceutics-calculations course and those who took the standalone calculations course). Data from both groups, such as course grades, objective structured clinical evaluation (OSCE) scores, and independent calculation self-assessment skills test scores were compared to students' pre-pharmacy math grade point average (GPA) to determine whether variance was more likely to have been caused by inter-student aptitude differences or course structure differences. Student confidence in their pharmacy calculations skills and course structure preferences was surveyed. Results. Students who took the standalone pharmaceutical calculations course performed better as indicated by an improvement in calculations course grades, OSCE performance, retention of calculation skills, and in self-confidence. Students also reported that the standalone course structure was more effective. Conclusion. The new, standalone calculations course is effective and improved student calculations performance and retention.

Physician attitudes toward pharmacist provision of medication therapy management services.

OBJECTIVE: The implementation of Medicare Part D in 2006 has the potential to advance the profession of pharmacy through the provision and remuneration of pharmacist-provided medication therapy management (MTM) services. Limited research has evaluated physician attitudes toward pharmacist-provided MTM services, and little is known about factors that may affect these attitudes. The aim of this study was to test a model of physicians' attitudes toward pharmacist-provided MTM services as a part of Medicare Part D. SETTING AND METHOD: A mail survey was sent to a random sample of 500 physicians practicing in West Virginia. Multiple linear regression was used to test the model. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The independent variables included prescription volume, specialty type, years of practice, gender, academic affiliation, practice size, physicians' attitudes toward collaborative agreement, and physician-pharmacist communication frequency. Additionally, physician age was included as a control variable. RESULTS: A total of 102 responses were received yielding a response rate of 22.1%. The mean for physicians' attitude to support provision of MTM by pharmacists was 2.84 out of 5. The overall physicians' attitudes model for provision of MTM by pharmacists was found to be significant. Physicians' attitudes toward collaborative agreement, specialty, years of practice, physician-pharmacist communication frequency regarding patients communication, and gender had significant influences on physician attitudes toward provision of MTM by pharmacists. CONCLUSION: The proposed model can provide insight into physicians' attitudes toward provision of MTM by pharmacists and may be helpful in developing future approaches and policies to further improve this collaborative relationship.