Pharmacy Leaders' Reflections on Leadership and Legacy.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the experiences, contributions, and perceived legacy of individuals recognized as leaders in the pharmacy profession and compare these by gender and generational category. METHODS: A total of 54 leaders were interviewed about their journey to leadership and the legacy they leave to the profession. Interviews were transcribed, de-identified, and qualitatively analyzed using an inductive, modified constant comparison approach for open and axial coding. Qualitative responses were quantified to allow for the comparison of themes by gender and generational category. RESULTS: Common leadership themes included: humility, not expecting to be in a leadership role, taking initiative, being passionate about their work, having mentors to guide them, having a network of people around them, being a part of change, serving during a challenging time, seizing opportunities when they presented themselves, and being involved in professional organizations. The individual's clinical work (38.9%), helping to develop pharmacy as a clinical profession (33.3%), publications (29.6%), impact on students (29.6%), building programs (22.2%), involvement in organizations (20.4%), and impactful research (16.7%) were common themes noted in the legacy responses. CONCLUSION: Although there are many advancements still to be made, upcoming leaders would benefit from the journey and perceived legacy of these leaders as they carry the torch to advance the practice of pharmacy.

Pharmacy Leaders' Advice to Students Pursuing Leadership: A Qualitative Study.

INTRODUCTION: Leadership development is important both from a curricular standpoint and for continued advancement of the profession. Advice from current leaders in the profession may serve as a powerful motivator to students desiring to be leaders. The purpose of this qualitative study was to provide advice from experienced pharmacy leaders. METHODS: Fifty-four pharmacy leaders were identified based on pre-determined, specific criteria and by using a snowball sampling method. Interviews with leaders were conducted via Zoom to learn about their leadership journey, their legacy, and advice they would give students. The interviews were transcribed, de-identified and analyzed using the inductive, modified constant comparison approach for open and axial coding. Advice themes were compared by gender and generational category. RESULTS: The majority of the interviewees were male (69%), belonged to the Baby Boomer Generation (1946-1964, 59.3%), and held leadership positions in education (78%) and health systems (48%). Thirty-seven leadership advice themes were present. The topmost advice to students was to keep an open mind (35%) and to get involved in organizations (32%). Pieces of advice shared by both men and women leaders included: being open minded, getting involved in organizations, taking initiative, trying new or difficult things, and finding your passion. Keeping an open mind, and taking initiative were common across the three generations. CONCLUSION: Pharmacy leaders have insightful information for students aspiring to be future leaders. Leadership advice was similar by gender and generational category. Students would benefit in developing their leadership based on advice from the lived experience of pharmacy leaders. Future studies could examine students' perspectives on leadership advice.

Exploring pharmacy students' interest in digital badges.

INTRODUCTION: Digital badging may address the need to document skills developed in the co-curriculum. This study examined students' perceptions of the value, motivating factors, and challenges for participating in digital badging. METHODS: An online survey was emailed to first, second, and third year pharmacy students at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Year in school, pharmacy grade point average, organizational membership, and level of organization leadership was obtained. The survey used a five-point Likert rating and consisted of: nine perceived values categorized as value for recognition, motivation for participation, and learning; eleven motivating factors including intrinsic and extrinsic; and seven challenges for pursuing a digital badge. Overall likelihood to pursue a digital badge, motivating factors to pursue a digital badge, and top potential badge options were also queried. Appropriate statistical tests were performed to determine associations with variables and likelihood to pursue a digital badge. RESULTS: A total of 116 usable responses were received (48.9% response rate). A majority indicated that digital badges had perceived value for all three categories queried. Both extrinsic and intrinsic motivators were important in predicting likelihood to pursue a digital badge. The influence of challenges did not explain the variations in likelihood to pursue a digital badge. Leadership and community engagement were the top two desired digital badges. CONCLUSIONS: Survey data provided insights for determining best practices for designing a digital badge to differentiate skills among students. Further research and evaluation of an implemented digital badge is necessary for defining best practices in digital badging.

Factors influencing pharmacy faculty behavior, perceptions, and challenges with determining authorship credit.

INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to identify challenges in determining authorship and author order, factors and criteria that influence behavior in determining authorship and author order, and beliefs about authorship and familiarity with guidelines among pharmacy faculty. METHODS: An online survey was emailed to faculty from three groups of schools categorized by degree of external research funding. Academic discipline and rank, tenure status, years in rank, and gender were queried. Questions were created to determine frequency of authorship justification and author order by specific factors. Power pressures experienced when determining authorship were queried. Three case studies were also included to determine behavior for authorship and authorship order. RESULTS: A total of 295 usable responses were received (30.2% response rate). A majority of faculty experienced power pressures when determining authorship. Justifying authorship for supervision of student projects and statistical analysis was common. Quantity and quality of contributions were the most common reason for justifying order. Writing substantial sections of an article was ranked the most important component in determining author order. Differences in justifying authorship based on promotion and tenure pressures were noted by academic rank, tenure status, and academic discipline. Familiarity with International Committee for Medical Journal Editors guidelines did not appear to influence behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: There is a plurality of perceptions and attitudes among faculty in relation to authorship. A model for recognition of contributions is needed. More structured guidance in concert with moral and ethical principles would help to clarify how to best establish authorship and author order.

An Exploratory Study Using Visual Thinking Strategies to Improve Undergraduate Students' Observational Skills.

Objective. To describe a teaching approach that incorporated visual thinking strategies (VTS) into an existing health humanities course and measure the effects on the observation skills of undergraduate health professions students. Methods. Visual thinking strategies were used to introduce students to a variety of health-related topics. Each week a facilitated 15-minute discussion was held about a work of art related to the day's topic. Pre- and post-course assessments were administered in which students were shown three images and asked to describe what they observed in each image. Student responses were evaluated using deductive content analysis with two different categorization matrices. The assessments also included six Likert-style questions. Results. For matrix one, the most frequent type of observation was naming or identifying something. Growth between pre- and post-course assessments occurred in the following categories: what is happening, how it looks, and where it is located. The number of student observations for two of the three images increased. The majority of students indicated that the use of this visual art exercise was an enjoyable learning experience. Conclusion. In future studies, a larger sample size and inclusion of a control group could better demonstrate the meaningful impact of VTS on developing students' observational skills.

Pharmacy in an Improved Health Care Delivery Model Using Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.

Our objective is to suggest a revised model of health care delivery that emphasizes human connections in patient care and describes the role of pharmacists within the model. Improving the quality of patient experiences is one of the triple aims of health care delivery. Using the patient-centered medical home (PCMH) model as the basis, we describe an enhanced delivery model that adopts Maslow's hierarchy of needs and addresses the current deficiencies of the PCMH model. The model envisions the creation of "community centers for engagement" that employ patient care advocates and health care practitioners who work together in an interdisciplinary manner to improve the quality of patient care experiences. Pharmacists' roles in these centers of engagement are outlined based on Maslow's hierarchy of needs. The model aims to enhance patient-provider interactions and allow pharmacists to play a pivotal role in meeting patients' needs with the goal of developing a self-actualized patient.

Effects of mindfulness meditation on mindfulness, mental well-being, and perceived stress.

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of mindfulness meditation using the Headspace™ app on mindfulness, mental well-being, and perceived stress in pharmacy students. METHODS: Professional year one (P1), professional year two (P2,) and professional year 3 (P3) pharmacy students were recruited to participate. Students were instructed to meditate using the Headspace™ app for at least 10min per day for four weeks. Students at baseline completed the health promoting lifestyle profile (HPLP). Data was collected from the pre/post surveys using the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (WEMWBS), and Cohen Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). RESULTS: Ninety-two pharmacy students enrolled in the study. Seventy-percent of the participants completed the study. Only one participant was excluded in the post data analysis due to non-adherence with the protocol. The data revealed that for all scales the intervention was associated with enhanced mindfulness and mental well-being and decreased perceived stress. Further analysis indicated that controlling for various health promoting lifestyle behaviors preserves the positive impact of mindfulness meditation as demonstrated. CONCLUSIONS: Mindfulness meditation uniformly and independently improved the participants overall mental health. The data supports a feasible option for minimizing stress and maintaining mental well-being in a demanding professional program. This study encourages students in pharmacy schools to adopt these practices in their curriculum.

PharmD graduates' perceptions of the impact of a teaching specialization.

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this study was to evaluate graduates' perceptions of the impact of a teaching (education) specialization and identify aspects of the specialization that could be enhanced. METHODS: A 20-item online survey was emailed to graduates of the education specialization at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Pharmacy. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. Regression analysis was used to examine (1) association between overall self-rated competence on abilities and skills as a teacher and the number of types of teaching experiences and (2) association between overall self-rated competence on abilities and skills as a teacher and history of holding a faculty position. Chi square was used to determine differences between the two cohorts in confidence areas. RESULTS: Fifty-six out of 69 alumni (81.2%) responded to the survey. Graduates reported high levels of confidence in most teaching abilities. There was a high level of agreement that the specialization enhanced motivation to teach. Regression analysis indicated statistically significant associations between self-rated competence on abilities and skills across a variety of teaching experiences (e.g., classroom lecturing, precepting, continuing education, staff training, lab instruction, facilitating small groups) and history of faculty employment. Enhanced skills in experiential education and teaching outside of academia were identified as further areas for development. CONCLUSION: The education specialization offered at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Pharmacy may be an alternative entry level PharmD pathway for stimulating interest in academia. The majority of graduates agreed that they have applied the knowledge and skills to their careers.

Use of mixed-methods approach to assess the impact of a pre-professional health humanities honors course on developing interpersonal skills.

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this study was to use a mixed-methods approach to provide evidence for growth in empathy, respect for patient autonomy, ability to relate to others, and self-awareness as a result of participating in a health humanities course. METHODS: The mixed-methods approach gathered quantitative data using a quasi-experimental design of a pre/post course survey and qualitative data from reflective writings and student papers. The reflective writings and student papers were evaluated using an adapted rubric to assess the quality of the reflections on measures of empathy, respect for patient autonomy, ability to relate to others, and self-awareness. RESULTS: Twenty-five students were enrolled in the course. Matched pair data was available from 22 students (88% response rate) for the quantitative survey data. Qualitative data was available from all 25 participants. The pre- and post-course surveys revealed a statistically significant increase in empathy (p < 0.001) as a result of completing the health humanities course. The final written report contained the highest quality of reflections compared to all other reflective writing assignments. Evidence for understanding empathy was prominent in the final written report. CONCLUSIONS: The evaluation of development of interpersonal skills through use of health humanities resources may be reproduced by using a mixed-methods assessment approach. The quantitative and qualitative data presented provide some evidence for enhancing awareness and understanding of empathy, particularly by utilizing health humanities resources in an undergraduate interdisciplinary seminar course.

Advocating for Patient Care Literacy.

The value of the arts and humanities in becoming an "educated" pharmacist is reviewed in this commentary. The term "patient care literacy" is defined as becoming a more humane pharmacist. This implies not only using heads but HARTSS (humanities, arts and social sciences) for developing the necessary skills. A conceptual framework for curricular reform that focuses on using the arts and humanities is proposed for advancing patient care literacy. Methods for enhancing use of arts and humanities for developing pharmacy graduates is specifically proposed. The need for more empiric research to demonstrate the value of the arts and humanities in developing a patient care literate professional is highlighted.

A course for developing interprofessional skills in pre-professional honor students using humanities and media.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: To design and implement an undergraduate honors course for pre-health professional students that develops interpersonal skills through use of a variety of humanities. EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY AND SETTING: A three credit hour course in an honors seminar sequence was developed by pharmacy practice faculty and with input from faculty in mass communications, philosophy, applied communication studies and history. The course utilized a variety of media such as literature, film, and podcasts to foster student discussion about a variety of health-related topics. Topics included public health, stigmatization, portrayals of health care providers, patient experiences, health care ethics, aging, and death and dying. Students were assessed using pre-class assignments and reflective writings as well as a formal written and oral presentation on a selected health-related book. A quasi-experimental design was used to assess the impact of the course on desired course outcomes. FINDINGS: The first course offering was to 22 undergraduate pre-health professional honors students. Pre- and post-course surveys on students' perceptions and students' reflective writings revealed achievement of desired course outcomes. Post-course evaluations also revealed positive perceptions about the course. DISCUSSION: The design of this course provided an outlet for students to read and enjoy various forms of media, while also meeting its goal of exposing students to a variety of humanities. The course allowed students to think critically about various health care issues, and to begin to develop interpersonal skills. SUMMARY: The course could be adapted for pharmacy by developing affective domains of the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) Standards.

Student Self-Assessment and Faculty Assessment of Performance in an Interprofessional Error Disclosure Simulation Training Program.

Objectives. To conduct a prospective evaluation for effectiveness of an error disclosure assessment tool and video recordings to enhance student learning and metacognitive skills while assessing the IPEC competencies. Design. The instruments for assessing performance (planning, communication, process, and team dynamics) in interprofessional error disclosure were developed. Student self-assessment of performance before and after viewing the recordings of their encounters were obtained. Faculty used a similar instrument to conduct real-time assessments. An instrument to assess achievement of the Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) core competencies was developed. Qualitative data was reviewed to determine student and faculty perceptions of the simulation. Assessment. The interprofessional simulation training involved a total of 233 students (50 dental, 109 nursing and 74 pharmacy). Use of video recordings made a significant difference in student self-assessment for communication and process categories of error disclosure. No differences in student self-assessments were noted among the different professions. There were differences among the family member affects for planning and communication for both pre-video and post-video data. There were significant differences between student self-assessment and faculty assessment for all paired comparisons, except communication in student post-video self-assessment. Students' perceptions of achievement of the IPEC core competencies were positive. Conclusion. The use of assessment instruments and video recordings may have enhanced students' metacognitive skills for assessing performance in interprofessional error disclosure. The simulation training was effective in enhancing perceptions on achievement of IPEC core competencies. This enhanced assessment process appeared to enhance learning about the skills needed for interprofessional error disclosure.

Survey of Pharmacy Schools' Approaches and Attitudes toward Curricular Integration.

Objective. To identify ways in which curricular integration is addressed in US pharmacy schools, the structure of therapeutics and foundational science courses, and perceptions of the effects current curricular integration methods have on student learning. Methods. An electronic survey was sent to academic leaders representing 131 pharmacy schools in the United States. Frequency data was tabulated and demographic analysis was performed. Results. Respondent data represents 94 schools of pharmacy. Arranging similar content from various disciplines in a course, a skills laboratory and pharmacy practice experiences were the most common methods for achieving curricular integration. More than one half of the schools indicated that foundational sciences were integrated with therapeutics. The most common reported challenge to curricular integration was logistics. Conclusion. Pharmacy education in the United States has evolved in addressing curricular integration in the curricula, which is consistent with changes in accreditation standards. Most pharmacy schools reported a variety of methods for achieving the intent of curricular integration.

Interprofessional Online Global Health Course.

Objective. The design and evaluation of an online global health course targeted for pharmacy and other undergraduates is presented. Design. Enrolled students represented nursing, health education, pharmacy and a variety of other disciplines. The course was designed as an entirely online one with no class meetings. The course consisted of eight modules addressing global health competencies and interprofessional education competencies. Readings, quizzes, study question and team projects were tailored to the goals of each module. Students worked in interprofessional teams for their team projects. Assessment. Assessments consisted of pre and post course perceptions and course evaluation. Rubrics were designed to evaluate team assignments and peer assessment of team participation. Conclusion. Course was successful in enhancing perceptions of global health knowledge and understanding of roles and responsibilities of various health disciplines in addressing challenges of global health. No changes in teamwork perceptions were documented after completing the course. The overall course structure was successful in meeting course goals.

Health professions ethics rubric: validation of reliability in an interprofessional health ethics course.

The aim of this study was to validate a health professions ethics rubric by an interprofessional team. The rubric was used by two pharmacy and two dental faculty members to score ethics cases submitted by 16 teams comprised of 80 pharmacy and 50 dental students. A debriefing session for each case was moderated by a non-rater faculty member to arrive at a consensus score for the cases. Interrater reliability was calculated for the four raters and the debriefing scores as well as the four raters without the debriefing scores. The overall interrater correlations were in the range of 0.790 to 0.906 for the four raters. Issues ranged from 0.320 to 0.758. Principles ranged from 0.610 to 0.838. Options ranged from 0.655 to 0.843. Analysis ranged from 0.667 to 0.918. Solution ranged from 0.739 to 0.886. With the inclusion of the consensus scores, the interrater correlations were even higher. The best correlations were for the overall score and solution components of the rubric. With further edits in the rubric and enhanced training by faculty raters and changes in the ethics learning session, the revised rubric could be evaluated again for grading. Further training for faculty using the rubric for grading student cases should enhance its reliability. Demonstrating to students the ethical decision making process using the rubric should enhance the validation process.