Preceptor Feedback on Utilization and Pre-APPE Performance Expectations of Pharmacy Practice Skills.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine the frequency with which preceptors perform skills in their practice setting and the degree of competency that preceptors expect from students to perform those skills upon starting their advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs). METHODS: A survey assessing skill utilization and expected pre-APPE student competency level upon entry to APPEs was developed by pharmacy practice faculty and distributed to preceptors. Preceptors were asked to rank their utilization of skills and expected pre-APPE student competency of each skill. Investigators assigned each skill a categorical ranking of high, moderate, or low priority. RESULTS: The survey was completed by 448 pharmacy preceptors. Skills related to communication, patient education, documentation, collecting medication histories, and drug therapy review/reconciliation were the most utilized. Skills related to physical assessment and point-of-care testing were the least utilized, and the expected student competency level was also low. Skills identified as highest-priority included those related to patient counseling/education, problem-solving/critical thinking, and information gathering and management. CONCLUSION: The results of this survey suggest that the frequency with which preceptors perform specific skills in practice and their corresponding competency expectations for APPE students vary and are skill-dependent, allowing for prioritization. Stratifying individual skills according to how commonly they are encountered in practice and the competency levels expected by APPE preceptors can assist institutions in prioritizing skills-based laboratory content and assessment and in addressing curricular bloat and hoarding.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Pharmacy Student Stress During High-Stakes, Performance-Based Assessments in Skills-Based Courses.

Objective. To compare stress levels of pharmacy students in high-stakes, performance-based assessments administered during skills-based laboratory courses in normal classroom environments versus pandemic classroom environments impacted by COVID-19.Methods. In 2019, prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) students' stress levels were assessed via a voluntary, paper-based survey before and after performance-based assessments. Students were given a modified version of this survey in 2020 during the pandemic. The 2019 and 2020 survey responses were compared using Wilcoxon rank sum tests.Results. Pharmacy students reported higher perceived stress levels before performance-based assessments (3.8 vs 3.5) and after performance-based assessments (2.8 vs 2.5) prior to the pandemic compared to during the pandemic. Students identified stress as negatively impacting their performance-based assessment performance in both years (3.4 vs 3.1). Students had similar interest in wellness activities in both phases.Conclusion. Colleges of pharmacy should consider implementing stress relief programs around high-stakes assessments as well as prioritizing wellness initiatives within curricula.

Effect of death and dying elective on student empathy and attitudes toward mortality.

INTRODUCTION: Pharmacy graduates should be equipped for one inevitable aspect of health care, mortality, yet only 10% of United States pharmacy curricula courses cover end-of-life (EoL) with limited evidence of effectiveness. This study's objective was to evaluate the impact of an EoL elective on student pharmacists' empathy and attitudes toward mortality and caring for terminally ill persons. METHODS: First- through third-year student pharmacists enrolled in an EoL elective. Students completed pre- and post-course surveys on self-perceptions of empathy and mortality. Surveys included the following: Kiersma-Chen Empathy Scale (KCES), which assesses empathy of pharmacy and nursing students; revised Collett-Lester Fear of Death and Dying Scale (CL-FODS), which measures fear related to death; and Frommelt Attitudes Toward Care of the Dying Scale Form B (FATCOD-B), which measures health care professionals' attitudes toward EoL care. Anonymous identifiers were used to link pre- and post-course surveys and were collected with an online survey software. Data were analyzed using two-sided paired t-tests. RESULTS: Twenty-seven student pharmacists completed the elective. The change in overall mean scores for KCES, CL-FODS, and FATCOD-B correlated with increased empathy, reduced fear of death, and increased positive attitudes toward caring for terminal patients (KCES pre-course = 86.15 vs. post-course = 90.37; CL-FODS pre-course = 93.70 vs. post-course = 75.15; FATCOD-B pre-course = 115.89 vs. post-course = 124.04). CONCLUSIONS: After the EoL elective, student empathy and attitudes toward mortality and caring for terminally ill persons improved. Implementing EoL concepts in pharmacy curricula should be explored to better prepare graduates in patient care.

Student pharmacist perceptions of learning after strengths-based leadership skills lab and escape room in pharmacy practice skills laboratory.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Leadership is a required component of doctor of pharmacy programs. There is opportunity for students to receive instructional education on leadership concepts through serious games. EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY AND SETTING: First-year pharmacy students (n = 146) participated in a required skills-based leadership lab including a team-based escape room activity. FINDINGS: Students reported a statistically significant increase in understanding of leadership concepts and application at the end of the global lab activities (p < 0.01) and a majority of the students found the escape room activity "very useful" (56%). SUMMARY: Escape rooms present a unique opportunity to engage students in active learning and problem solving. A majority of the students found the escape room activity useful and enjoyed the interactive application of leadership concepts. Potential challenges to implementing escape rooms such as time to develop, physical space requirements, supplies, and volunteers to facilitate the experience should be considered prior to implementation. Serious gaming is an emerging pedagogy, and this data supplements existing literature to support use in pharmacy education.

Pharmacist and pharmacy intern perceptions of adolescent vaccination administration.

OBJECTIVES: To characterize pharmacists' and pharmacy interns' perceptions of administering adolescent vaccinations. Secondary objectives were to model the association between 1) perceptions and respondent demographic information and 2) pre- and post-training survey responses. DESIGN: A 12-item survey, on the basis of the Theory of Self-Perception, was used to collect respondents' perceptions of adolescent vaccination administration retrospectively before and after pharmacist and pharmacy intern completion of Online training. The training reviewed Center for Disease Control and Advisory Committee on Immunization Practice recommendations for vaccination schedules, vaccine administration, managing adverse reactions, finding vaccine-related information, the importance of vaccinating, and dispelling common misconceptions. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Pharmacists and pharmacy interns representing 114 Indiana community pharmacy locations within a national supermarket chain were eligible to complete an Online survey between March and April 2019. OUTCOME MEASURES: Descriptive statistics were used to characterize pharmacists' and pharmacy interns' perceptions of adolescent vaccination administration. A multivariable regression analysis was used to determine the association between perceptions and respondent demographic information. Differences in perceptions before and after the training module were evaluated using paired t tests. RESULTS: Of the 293 eligible pharmacists and pharmacy interns, 138 (47.1%) completed the survey and 124 (42.3%) responses were included for analysis. Pharmacists and pharmacy interns had positive perceptions of adolescent vaccination administration. There was a negative relationship between the number of years that a pharmacist had been in practice and their baseline perceptions of adolescent vaccination administration (P = 0.02). There was a statistically significant increase in perceptions following completion of the training module (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Pharmacists and pharmacy interns, specifically those who have been in practice for few years, had positive perceptions about adolescent vaccination administration but their perceptions were strengthened with additional training. Further research is needed to determine the relationship between additional training and vaccination rates.