Students' Perceptions and Lessons Learned From Virtual APPE Rotations: A Multi-Institutional Perspective.

Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic caused disruption in pharmacy experiential learning as clinical practice sites restricted student access to onsite rotations. Therefore, colleges of pharmacy across the country likely included virtual advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs) to fulfill experiential education requirements. The objective of this paper is to evaluate students' perceptions of virtual APPEs during the 2020-2021 academic year. Methods: Experiential directors and faculty at 3 colleges of pharmacy in the south Florida region developed a survey to assess students' perceptions of their virtual APPE rotations during the 2020-2021 academic year. Students who took at least one fully virtual APPE rotation were asked about their perceptions of these rotations. Results: A total of 349 students were invited to take the survey and 92 (26.3%) completed the survey. Of these, 77 students (83.7%) completed at least one virtual rotation. These students completed a total of 152 virtual rotations, with elective and ambulatory care rotations being the most frequent. Most students agreed that rotation objectives were clear, and preceptors offered resources needed to be successful during the rotation. Responses regarding engagement during virtual rotations, rotation expectations being met, and rotations expanding students' knowledge were mixed. Conclusions: Virtual rotations may present unique experiential opportunities for students. Colleges of pharmacy and preceptors can benefit from additional guidance regarding how to incorporate virtual rotations into the experiential curriculum. Best practices for virtual rotations include high frequency of interactions with preceptors, clear objectives and responsibilities, and the use of a rotation calendar.

Integration of Latin American Complementary and Alternative Medicine Topics Into a Doctor of Pharmacy Curriculum and Survey of Student Attitudes and Behaviors.

One in 3 adults report using complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and as many as 7 in 10 Hispanic patients report CAM use. Pharmacists often encounter patients who use CAM products and therefore college of pharmacy curricular standards require both CAM and cultural competence training; however, there is little guidance for colleges on how to best deliver this material. In Fall 2017, Larkin University College of Pharmacy implemented a curricular change wherein first professional (P1) year pharmacy students selected, researched, and presented on a CAM product from Latin America. Pre-post surveys were administered to the students to measure their attitudes and behaviors toward CAM before and after completing their project. Survey results showed that student attitudes and behaviors toward CAM were largely unchanged; however, post-survey results showed that students agreed that they knew where to search for Latin American CAM information (P < 0.05). Integration of Latin American CAM topics was successfully implemented in the P1 year of a Doctor of Pharmacy degree curriculum to foster cultural competence.