An Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience in Leadership Development.

Objective. To describe the development and implementation of an advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) in leadership.Methods. A leadership APPE was created and continuously improved over five years from being mostly content-oriented to being more of an experiential offering by identifying and implementing rich, practical leadership experiences. Activities included PhotoVoice, Power of Full Engagement, What's Your Passion?, Transformational Leadership, Speech Acts, a Mindfulness Retreat, PeoplePack Dynamics, and a rowing experience at an Olympic training facility. After five years of developing and refining the APPE, faculty coordinators sought student feedback on the APPE beyond using a standardized APPE evaluation form students complete at the end of each rotation.Results. The majority of students agreed with all of the evaluation items. Items with the highest mean agreement included: content from previous didactic leadership courses were reinforced in the rotation; relevance of the rotation to one's career; rotation objectives facilitated learning; and a variety of teaching methods helped in applying knowledge to future practice. Analysis of comments regarding the leadership APPE identified three main themes: gratitude, development, and more connection.Conclusion. An elective APPE with the primary purpose of leadership training and development can be created and incorporated into the Doctor of Pharmacy curriculum. This leadership APPE can serve as an example for other institutions interested in implementing a similar experience.

A novel use of photovoice methodology in a leadership APPE and pharmacy leadership elective.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The purpose of this article is to describe and assess the effectiveness of an innovative teaching approach in an advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) and leadership elective. EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY AND SETTING: Three cohorts of students [(2014: n = 14), (2015: n = 17), (2016: n = 19)] were introduced to the photovoice (PV) method in their leadership APPE. PV required students to take, present, and discuss photographs within their cohorts. PV was used as a teaching method with the intention that the process would compel students to be involved in leadership development throughout experiential rotations, participate in discussions related to leadership development, and engage in creative activity. Group discussions from the class of 2014 were recorded and transcribed. Students from all cohorts were asked to participate in an electronic survey containing items based on PV learning objectives. All students were asked to participate in semi-structured interviews about PV. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION: The inductive coding method was used to identify themes from discussion transcripts. Analysis of themes revealed 51.5% of the PV photographs related to emotional intelligence. Development of others and strong teams were themes represented in 44.3% of photographs. Survey data indicated all respondents agreed PV was a valuable method to describe learning in leadership. Interview coding revealed themes related to emotional intelligence and development of teams. SUMMARY: The PV method was an effective teaching tool in a leadership APPE and elective course. PV is a teaching method to be utilized in a variety of experiential learning environments to better enhance the professional development of pharmacy students.

Adolescent medicine training in pediatric residency programs.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to provide an assessment of pediatric residency training in adolescent medicine. METHODS: We conducted 2 national surveys: 1 of pediatric residency program directors and the other of faculty who are responsible for the adolescent medicine block rotation for pediatric residents to elicit descriptive and qualitative information concerning the nature of residents' ambulatory care training experience in adolescent medicine and the workforce issues that affect the experience. RESULTS: Required adolescent medicine topics that are well covered pertain to normal development, interviewing, and sexual issues. Those least well covered concern the effects of violence, motor vehicle safety, sports medicine, and chronic illness. Shortages of adolescent medicine specialists, addictions counselors, psychiatrists, and other health professionals who are knowledgeable about adolescents frequently limit pediatric residency training in adolescent medicine. Considerable variation exists in the timing of the mandatory adolescent medicine block rotation, the clinic sites used for ambulatory care training, and the range of services offered at the predominant training sites. In addition, residents' continuity clinic experience often does not include adolescent patients; thus, pediatric residents do not have opportunities to establish ongoing therapeutic relationships with adolescents over time. Both program and rotation directors had similar opinions about adolescent medicine training. CONCLUSIONS: Significant variation and gaps exist in adolescent medicine ambulatory care training in pediatric residency programs throughout the United States. For addressing the shortcomings in many programs, the quality of the block rotation should be improved and efforts should be made to teach adolescent medicine in continuity, general pediatric, and specialty clinics. In addition, renewed attention should be given to articulating the core competencies needed to care for adolescents.

A narrative study of the experiences of student nurses who have participated in the Hearing Voices that are Distressing simulation.

The aim of this study was to provide nursing students with an experiential learning opportunity which simulated living with the challenge of voice hearing. The purpose was to access understanding and insights of nursing students who completed "Hearing Voices that are Distressing: A Training Experience and Simulation for Students" (Deegan, 1996). Using a narrative research design and a convenience sample of 27 nursing students, participants were asked to respond in written format to three open ended prompts immediately following their participation in the simulation. Data generated was subjected to a thematic content analysis using a manual cut and paste approach to inductively find meanings and insights elicited from the respondents' actual words. Affirmed in this study was the use of this teaching tool to assist the students in their understanding of the challenges posed by voice hearing.

Use of an audience response system (ARS) in a dual-campus classroom environment.

OBJECTIVES: To implement an audience response system in a dual-campus classroom that aggregated data during graded (attendance and quizzes) and non-graded classroom activities (formative quizzes, case discussions, examination reviews, and team activities) and explore its strengths, weaknesses, and impact on active learning. DESIGN: After extensive research, an appropriate audience response system was selected and implemented in a dual-classroom setting for a third-year required PharmD course. Students were assigned a clicker and training and policies regarding clicker use were reviewed. Activities involving clicker use were carefully planned to simultaneously engage students in both classrooms in real time. Focus groups were conducted with students to gather outcomes data. ASSESSMENT: Students and faculty members felt that the immediate feedback the automated response system (ARS) provided was most beneficial during non-graded activities. Student anxiety increased with use of ARS during graded activities due to fears regarding technology failure, user error, and academic integrity. SUMMARY: ARS is a viable tool for increasing active learning in a doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) program, especially when used for non-graded class activities. Faculty members should proceed cautiously with using ARS for graded classroom activities and develop detailed and documented policies for ARS use.

Amelioration of sexual fantasies to sexual abuse cues in an adult survivor of childhood sexual abuse: a case study.

Although sexual dysfunction of childhood sexual abuse survivors has received considerable attention, other sexual difficulties experienced by survivors of CSA, such as sexual fantasies to cues of sexual abuse, have received less attention. In this A-B design case study, a young adult female survivor of childhood sexual abuse presented for treatment at a Midwest rape crisis center. After successful treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder, she complained of unwanted sexual fantasies to sexual abuse cues and concomitant guilt and shame. Following baseline data collection, treatment consisted of self-applied aversion therapy to unwanted sexual arousal to sexual abuse cues. Decrease in sexual arousal to these cues was concurrent with the introduction of treatment. A concomitant decrease in guilt and shame occurred while self-ratings of control increased.

The right stuff for early intervention in psychosis: time, attitude, place, intensity, treatment, & cost.

This article shares information about an exciting new approach in psychiatry. During the past 12 years, the authors have worked with young people experiencing their first episode of psychosis. It is clear that intervention at the earliest stages of psychotic illness allows clinicians to make a significant difference in the lives of young people and their families. This article summarizes current intervention strategies, which are considered best practice guidelines for early treatment.

Graduates' perceptions of self-assessment training in clinical dental hygiene education.

Although research regarding self-assessment as a curriculum component has been undertaken previously, no data have been reported regarding the perceptions of graduates who were taught self-assessment as a formalized component of accredited dental hygiene programs. Aided by alumni insight and the belief that the dental hygiene curriculum has the potential for improvement, the purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate dental hygienists' perceptions regarding self-assessment as a curriculum component and its impact on their clinical dental hygiene education. This investigation drew a sample of subjects from forty-eight graduates of a bachelor's degree dental hygiene program located within a college of dentistry. Twelve graduates were selected to participate in the study. An audiotaped semi-structured interview with predetermined questions served as a focus for the interview, yet amplification and probing allowed the participants to further articulate their feelings and thoughts. Findings indicated that participants believed self-assessment to be a worthwhile and positive component of the dental hygiene curriculum. All participants emphatically recounted with dramatic examples that training in self-assessment positively influenced their clinical dental hygiene education, permanently impacted their thinking process, and is being used in their practices.