Self-assessment in pharmacy and health science education and professional practice.

Self-assessment is an important skill necessary for continued development of a health care professional from student pharmacist throughout their professional career. This paper reviews the literature on student and practitioner self-assessment and whether this skill can be improved upon. Although self-assessment appears to be a skill that can be improved, both students and professionals continue to have difficulty with accurate self-assessment. Experts' external assessment of students should remain the primary method of testing skills and knowledge until self-assessment strategies improve. While self-assessment is important to lifelong learning, external assessment is also important for practitioners' continuing professional development.

Type 2 diabetes in children: a growing epidemic.

In the pediatric population, type 2 diabetes has become a growing concern. A correlation appears to exist among type 2 diabetes in children, obesity, and a sedentary lifestyle. If obesity and diabetes are left untreated, conditions such as cardiovascular disease, nephropathy, and retinopathy may result as well. These conditions indicate the incredible strain on the health care system caused by diabetes and obesity. This strain may be eased by logical treatments such as exercise and healthy eating habits for the child and family. However, these lifestyle changes are not always effective in controlling blood sugar. When lifestyle changes do not yield positive results, the clinician must decide which (if any) pharmacological treatments are safe to use in the pediatric population. Orlistat and sibutramine have been studied in children as treatments for obesity and appear to be safe and effective for this population. Metformin and insulin are among the medications approved to treat diabetes in children and adolescents. Healthcare practitioners must play a role in educating parents and their children about the effects of obesity on the development of diseases like diabetes, as well as various therapies used to manage diabetes. In addition, healthcare practitioners can assist patients and their parents in understanding the benefits and risks of medications used in the treatment of the disease, assistance that may result in them making informed decisions regarding their overall health.