The Impact of Cocurricular Engagement on Doctor of Pharmacy Students' Personal and Professional Development.

OBJECTIVE: To explore how third-year students in 4-year Doctor of Pharmacy programs make meaning of their participation in cocurricular activities relative to their personal and professional development, and to determine the extent to which any perceived learning outcomes identified by the students align with the personal and professional development skills required for new Doctor of Pharmacy graduates, as identified in Standard 4 of the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education Standard 4. METHODS: Seventy third-year Doctor of Pharmacy students across 4 schools/colleges of pharmacy were interviewed and completed a preinterview survey to gather demographic data. Data were analyzed through an inductive, iterative process, which was completed multiple times until theoretical ideas were formulated through a deductive process. RESULTS: Eight themes were identified through the interview process, each intersecting with 1 or more of the Key Elements identified in Standard 4 as desired learning outcomes (self-awareness, leadership, innovation, and professionalism), suggesting a strong connection between students' perception of their cocurricular engagement and their personal and professional development. CONCLUSION: This study broadens the scope of knowledge relative to students' perceived learning outcomes resulting from their cocurricular involvement beyond the prior scope of related literature. Results point to multiple action items for educators to better support students in their personal and professional development through cocurricular engagement.

Impact of Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences on Residency Interview Invitations.

Objective. To determine how postgraduate year one (PGY1) pharmacy residency program directors perceive factors related to advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs) when selecting candidates for residency interviews. Methods. An online cross-sectional nationwide survey of 1,280 PGY1 residency program directors was conducted. Participants were asked to rank the overall influence of five APPE categories, including location, structure, elective type, timing, and preceptor references, as well as the desirability and necessity of APPE-related variables representing the five categories, in their assessment of residency candidates. Results. Program demographics and survey data were collected from 375 participants (29% response rate). The category most influential to program directors' decisions was APPE preceptor reference letters, while the category that was the least influential was APPE timing factors. An APPE's location, structure, and elective type ranked second, third, and fourth, respectively, as the most influential categories. Respondents perceived factors similar to their own residency environment as desirable, supporting the study's conceptual framework of person-environment fit. The variables that the majority of residency directors specifically desired were two reference letters from APPE preceptors and letter grades for each APPE completed. Completion of inpatient elective APPEs was considered more desirable than completion of a balanced mix of elective APPEs. Participants rarely indicated that a specific APPE variable was a necessity for a candidate to be considered. Conclusion. Applicants to pharmacy residency programs should consider the importance of person-environment fit when selecting APPEs and preparing applications as program directors desire candidates who possess attributes compatible with their organization and complete APPEs in settings similar to that of their organization. Conversely, the absence of desired APPE-related variables does not necessarily exclude an applicant from consideration.

The Relational Aspects of Care Questionnaire: item reduction and scoring using inpatient and accident and emergency data in England.

PURPOSE: The Relational Aspects of Care Questionnaire (RAC-Q) is an electronic instrument which has been developed to assess staff's interactions with patients when delivering relational care to inpatients and those accessing accident and emergency (A&E) services. The aim of this study was to reduce the number of questionnaire items and explore scoring methods for "not applicable" response options. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Participants (n=3928) were inpatients or A&E attendees across six participating hospital trusts in England during 2015-2016. The instrument, consisting of 20 questionnaire items, was administered by trained hospital volunteers over a period of 10 months. Items were subjected to exploratory factor analysis to confirm unidimensionality, and the number of items was reduced using a range of a priori psychometric criteria. Two alternative approaches to scoring were undertaken, one treated "not applicable" responses as missing data, while the second adopted a problem score approach where "not applicable" was considered "no problem with care." RESULTS: Two short-form RAC-Qs with alternative scoring options were identified. The first (the RAC-Q-12) contained 12 items, while the second scoring option (the RAC-Q-14) contained 14 items. Scores from both short forms correlated highly with the full 20-item parent form score (RAC-Q-12, r=0.93 and RAC-Q-14, f=0.92), displayed high internal consistency (Cronbach's α: RAC-Q-12=0.92 and RAC-Q-14=0.89) and had high levels of agreement (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC]=0.97 for both scales). CONCLUSION: The RAC-Q is designed to offer near-real-time feedback on staff's interactions with patients when delivering relational care. The new short-form RAC-Qs and their respective method of scoring are reflective of scores derived using the full 20-item parent form. The new short-form RAC-Qs may be incorporated into inpatient surveys to enable the comparison of ward or hospital performance. Using either the RAC-Q-12 or the RAC-Q-14 offers a method to reduce missing data and response fatigue.

Barriers and facilitators of a near real-time feedback approach for measuring patient experiences of hospital care.

OBJECTIVES: To contribute towards the current policy directive and recommendations outlined in the Francis Report (1) to strengthen relational aspects of hospital care and increase the use of a near real-time feedback (RTF) approach. This article offers insight into the challenges and enablers faced when collecting near real-time feedback of patient experiences with trained volunteers; and using the data to facilitate improvements. METHODS: Feedback was collected from staff and volunteers before, during and after a patient experience data collection. This took the form of both formal mixed methods data collections via interviews, surveys and a diary; and informal anecdotal evidence, collected from meetings, workshops, support calls and a networking event. RESULTS: Various challenges and enablers associated with the RTF approach were identified. These related to technology, the setting, volunteer engagement and staff engagement. This article presents the key barriers experienced followed by methods suggested and utilised by staff and volunteers in order to counteract the difficulties faced. CONCLUSIONS: The results from this evaluation suggest that a near real-time feedback approach, when used in a hospital setting with trained volunteers, benefits from various support structures or systems to minimise the complications or burden placed on both staff and volunteers.