Development of a communication-based virtual patient counseling objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) for first year student pharmacists.

Objective: This text seeks to describe a framework for delivering and executing a virtual patient counseling OSCE and compare student performance to the in-person alternative. Methods: A communication-based virtual patient counseling objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) was created to fulfill the educational outcomes of a previously held in-person OSCE in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The virtual nature of this OSCE simulated a telehealth encounter, which has increased in utilization since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. This OSCE was offered twice in one semester - once as a formative assessment and once as a summative assessment. Student performance was mapped to learning outcomes and compared the previous year's in person performance. Results: The described virtual framework for executing the OSCE successfully decreased the time required and saw <1% change in overall performance from students when compared to the previous year in person which was not statistically significant. Conclusion: This framework for a virtual communication-based OSCE reduces time with a negligible impact on student performance compared to the in person alternative. Innovation: This work describes a telehealth virtual patient counseling model to replace the traditional patient counseling OSCE in pharmacy education with comparable outcomes.

Assessment of the validity of peer scores and peer feedback in an online peer assessment platform (Kritik).

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Online peer assessment platforms aim to improve the accuracy of peer scores (numerical scores based on a rubric) and hold students accountable for peer feedback (written comments). We evaluated the validity of peer scores and peer feedback using the online platform, Kritik. EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY AND SETTING: The course was a two-credit hour online infectious diseases pharmacotherapy elective consisting of twelve third-year students enrolled in a four-year doctor of pharmacy program. Students analyzed patient cases and created video presentations of their therapeutic care plan weekly. Each student scored three peers' presentations using a rubric and provided peer feedback in Kritik. The instructor independently scored the presentations. The students' presentation scores, which was the weighted average of three peers' scores, was compared to the instructor's score. Students also rated the peer feedback they received using two Likert-type scales (feedback-on-feedback [FoF] ratings). Two faculty rated 97 randomly selected peer feedback (written comments) and recorded their FoF ratings separately. Students completed an anonymous course evaluation and exit survey. FINDINGS: The Pearson correlation coefficient between weighted peer scores and instructor scores for 91 presentations was r = 0.880. There was fair agreement in FoF ratings between students and faculty based on weighted kappa. All students would recommend the course and had a positive experience with peer assessment and the platform. SUMMARY: Weighted peer scores strongly correlated with instructor scores, and students held each other accountable for peer feedback in Kritik. Our findings should be confirmed in different contexts and settings.

miR-181a Promotes Multiple Protumorigenic Functions by Targeting TGFßR3.

Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) comprises 15‒20% of all skin cancers and has a well-defined progression sequence from precancerous actinic keratosis to invasive cSCC. To identify targets for chemoprevention, we previously reported a cross-species analysis to identify the transcriptional drivers of cSCC development and identified miR-181a as a potential oncomiR. We show that the upregulation of miR-181a promotes multiple protumorigenic properties by targeting an understudied component of TGFß signaling, TGFßR3. miR-181a and TGFßR3 are upregulated and downregulated, respectively, in cSCC. miR-181a overexpression (OE) and TGFßR3 knockdown (KD) significantly suppresses UV-induced apoptosis in HaCaT cells and in primary normal human epidermal keratinocytes. In addition, OE of miR-181a or KD of TGFßR3 by short hairpin RNA enhances anchorage-independent survival. miR-181a OE or TGFßR3 KD enhances cellular migration and invasion and upregulation of epithelial‒mesenchymal transition markers. Luciferase reporter assays demonstrate that miR-181a directly targets the 3'-untranslated region of TGFßR3. miR-181a upregulates phosphorylated SMAD3 levels after TGFß2 administration and results in elevated SNAIL and SLUG expression. Finally, we confirm in vivo that miR-181a inhibition compromises tumor growth. Importantly, these phenotypes can be reversed with TGFßR3 OE or KD in the context of miR-181a OE or KD, respectively, further highlighting the physiologic relevance of this regulation in cSCC.

Creating learning opportunities for pharmacy students through an observership program.

PURPOSE: The development, implementation, challenges, and future opportunities associated with a pharmacy observership program are described. SUMMARY: In the summer of 2010, the pharmacy observership committee at The Methodist Hospital created a formalized, institution-based pharmacy observership program to introduce first-and second-year pharmacy students to the diverse areas of pharmacy practice. The two-month experience includes opportunities for students to participate in various departmental research projects and to observe the responsibilities of pharmacy staff. Four students have completed the observership program thus far. All observers commented that the program was a valuable introduction to hospital pharmacy. Feedback was obtained from the observers and each preceptor. Limitations of the program include a lack of funding for parking and lodging expenses, a lack of pagers, and a lack of a stipend for the observers. Although there was not an established budget for the program, our perceived costs were approximately $10,000. CONCLUSION: An observership program was established to allow first- and second-year pharmacy students to gain exposure to various aspects of hospital pharmacy outside of a formal internship.