Utilizing celebrity endorsements to teach over-the-counter medication and dietary supplement regulations.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Celebrity endorsements have a profound impact on consumers' purchases and lifestyles. Pharmacists and student pharmacists must be aware of celebrity endorsements of over-the-counter (OTC) medications and dietary supplements to properly advise patients regarding safety and effectiveness, or lack thereof, of endorsed products. EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY AND SETTING: An application-based activity was utilized in a self-care course to apply OTC medication and dietary supplement regulations to celebrity endorsements of these products. Students were asked to identify a celebrity endorsement of a product, providing: (1) the product endorsed, (2) celebrity endorser, (3) location of the endorsement, (4) summary of the endorsement and the endorsement itself, (5) assess if the endorsement violated any regulations, and (6) assess if the endorsement was in disagreement with evidence-based resources. FINDINGS: Student pharmacists concluded that 30% of celebrity endorsements violated laws and regulations while 35% concluded the claims made were not supported by evidence-based literature. Interestingly, student pharmacists who selected the same endorsements did not always arrive at the same conclusions. SUMMARY: Studied endorsements were frequently found to be in violation of laws and regulations governing OTC medications and dietary supplements and frequently were not supported by evidence-based literature. The activity described provides an innovative active-learning strategy to teach laws and regulations affecting OTC medications and dietary supplements.

Comparison of perceived personality traits between the pharmacy residents admitted through the match or scramble process.

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this study is to determine whether certain personality traits are as prominent in pharmacy practice residents who obtain positions through the post-Match process, previously referred to as the Scramble, as compared to residents who match directly with programs. METHODS: Pharmacy residency program directors (RPDs) across the United States were asked to complete an electronic survey that gauged RPD perceptions of 13 personality traits commonly seen in pharmacy residents. RPDs were requested to separately evaluate residents who Scrambled and Matched to their respective programs. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used to determine factor structure for the personality traits and to assess whether factors associate differentially between Matched and Scrambled residents. RESULTS: A total of 1876 RPDs of post-graduate year one (PGY1), post-graduate year two (PGY2), and combined PGY1 and PGY2 pharmacy residency programs were contacted for study participation with a response rate of 21 percent. Demographic variables related to program type and number of residents per class were similar between Scrambled and Matched groups. The EFA identified two factors across 13 traits: we termed them as traditional traits and grit-like traits, and they significantly differed between the Scramble and Match groups. RPD perception of traditional traits (nine traits) were significantly higher in the Match group (p < 0.05), whereas perceived grit-like traits (four traits) were significantly higher in the Scramble group (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: Residency candidates who Match versus candidates who Scramble are perceived to have unique and significantly different personality traits.

Teaching drug utilization review skills via a simulated clinical decision making exercise.

BACKGROUND: Drug utilization review (DUR) is a central role of the pharmacist, especially within the community pharmacy setting. Previous literature has shown risk of "alert fatigue", supporting the necessity of pharmacists to utilize a step-wise approach in evaluation of drug therapy during the verification process. Many students are intimidated by this process, and may lack verification practice or experience until their first day as a licensed pharmacist. EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY AND SETTING: An innovative skills-based laboratory exercise was developed for third-year pharmacy students to develop DUR skills. Through simulation of patient prescriptions, profiles, and drug information resources, students were tasked with completing a DUR for each patient case. Students were expected evaluate the clinical significance of various drug-related problems, determine if they would or would not dispense the prescription, and were required to provide rationale for their decision. FINDINGS: This learning activity was well-received by the student population; however, students struggled with the volume of cases along with identifying a solution to the clinical scenario. On average, students required nine minutes per case, which is likely longer than community pharmacists can devote to a single DUR in practice. DISCUSSION: In response, to student challenges with the activity, the number of cases was condensed to highlight key concepts and cases that facilitated strong discussion. To improve students' approach to the DUR process, faculty developed a vodcast to watch prior to the activity explaining a systematic approach to the DUR process as well as considerations a pharmacist should have. SUMMARY: Development and integration of an active-learning, simulated dispensing activity allowed students to gain valuable experience completing the DUR process, a foundational community pharmacy practice skill; however, repeated experience should be provided to ensure competency.

Implementation of personalized medicine services in community pharmacies: perceptions of independent community pharmacists.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the perceptions of independent community pharmacists within a regional independent community pharmacy cooperative on implementing personalized medicine services at their pharmacies and to gauge the pharmacists' self-reported knowledge of pharmacogenomic principles. DESIGN: Descriptive, exploratory, nonexperimental study. SETTING: American Pharmacy Services Corporation (APSC), 2011-12. PARTICIPANTS: Pharmacists (n = 101) affiliated with the independent pharmacies of APSC. INTERVENTION: Single-mode survey. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Independent community pharmacists' interest in implementing personalized medicine services, perceived readiness to provide such services, and perceived barriers to implementation. RESULTS: 101 completed surveys were returned for data analysis. The majority of pharmacists surveyed (75%) expressed interest in offering personalized medicine services. When asked to describe their knowledge of pharmacogenomics and readiness to implement such services, more than 50% said they were not knowledgeable on the subject and would not currently be comfortable making drug therapy recommendations to physicians or confident counseling patients based on results of genetic screenings without further training and education. Respondents identified cost of providing the service, reimbursement issues, current knowledge of pharmacogenomics, and time to devote to the program as the greatest barriers to implementing personalized medicine services. CONCLUSION: The majority of independent community pharmacists are interested in incorporating personalized medicine services into their practices, but they require further education before this is possible. Future initiatives should focus on the development of comprehensive education programs to further train pharmacists for provision of these services.