ABSTRACT
There is concern as to whether the public use OTC (over-the-counter) medicines with due diligence. The objective was to quantify the likelihood and extent people would seek information on OTC medicines in relation to 10 non-medicine products as a surrogate of the importance consumers place on them. Citizens of one Canadian province estimated the likelihood and extent (scale of 1 to 10) they would search for information when considering a purchase. The survey had two lists-a MIXED products list (5 OTC medicine categories and 10 non-medicine products) and an OTC MEDICINES list (15 categories). Five hundred and seventy-five surveys were obtained (response rate 19.2 percent). The average age was 63.0 years and 61.6 percent were female. The mean search likelihood for the 15 products on the MIXED list ranged from 2.2 to 7.4. There was more intention to search for information involving OTC medicines (mean = 5.0) than non-medicine products (mean = 4.1). There was a weak positive correlation in search likelihood relative to OTC medicine familiarity. This study revealed that the likelihood of searching for information prior to purchase is not particularly robust. With a plethora of information currently available to consumers, motivation to access it is what may need attention.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Pharmacy schools would benefit from new models of experiential education. The University of Saskatchewan (Canada) recently opened a patient care clinic called the Medication Assessment Centre (MAC) as new experiential education model. The purpose of this paper is to describe the structure and function of the MAC and to report program evaluation data. EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY AND SETTING: The MAC is a unique application of an existing experiential education model in that it is an pharmacist-run ambulatory clinic (which is common) that is physically located on campus amongst the classrooms and supervised by pharmacy faculty (which is unique). Students are all required to participate in the clinic on a regular basis, in between lectures, throughout the four years of the pharmacy program. FINDINGS: Students were invited to participate in one of five focus groups to assess the value of the experience. Transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis, and the results identified strong satisfaction amongst students. The overall themes fell into three categories: (1) aspects that students liked, (2) aspects that students found challenging, and (3) positive impact on student learning. Previously published studies have found strong support for the MAC amongst patients and physicians. SUMMARY: Students felt that a faculty supervised experiential education clinic that is physically located within their pharmacy school was a valuable learning experience. This paper provides a description of how the MAC has been integrated into an existing pharmacy curriculum, which may be valuable to schools contemplating a similar addition to existing experiential learning.
