Bachelor of pharmacy graduates' perceptions of the pharmacy administration curriculum in Trinidad and Tobago.

INTRODUCTION: As the profession of pharmacy has evolved, pharmacy education has developed to include competencies and skills related to pharmacy administration services. Competencies taught in pharmacy administration courses are expected to provide graduates with skills to effectively undertake administrative functions. Our study aimed to assess perceptions about knowledge and skills gained by the pharmacists during the Pharmacy Administration course at the School of Pharmacy, the University of the West Indies (UWI), Trinidad and Tobago. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was carried out among pharmacists working in hospitals and community pharmacies in Trinidad using non-probability convenience sampling. A structured questionnaire was distributed to 262 pharmacists who completed the Pharmacy Administration course. Two-hundred eighteen (83%) usable responses were included for analysis. RESULTS: Many (45.4%) respondents agreed that the course provided them with the knowledge of running a business, 78% said they were able to apply the skills in their practice, and 80% mentioned that the course should be mandatory. Pharmacists found that the course on business management enhanced their knowledge in the fields of managing human resources, conflict management, marketing, project management, corporate turnaround, inventory, and financial management. CONCLUSIONS: The Pharmacy Administration course in the bachelor of science degree in pharmacy programme at the School of Pharmacy, UWI remains relevant in the areas of marketing, human resource management, and inventory management. The programme can be extended to a full time masters course to interested pharmacy graduates.

Experience of health-system pharmacy administration residents in a longitudinal human resource management program.

PURPOSE: The experience of health-system pharmacy administration (HSPA) residents in a longitudinal human resource (HR) management program is described. The subsequent benefits to the residents, department, and profession are also discussed. SUMMARY: Postgraduate year 2 HSPA residents at an academic medical center desired more responsibility for managing an operational area. To this end, a program was created in which these residents directly manage a small group of pharmacy technicians and report to a clinical manager or assistant director with oversight responsibility. These "resident managers" are responsible, under the direction of the area's clinical manager, for the personnel, schedule, time and attendance, and HR activities of the area. Resident managers have led and sustained operational improvement projects in their areas. In addition to providing learning experiences to residents, the HSPA residency program has also improved the operations of the areas in which these residents work. Benefits to the residents include conducting annual performance evaluations for employees with whom they have a relationship as it is a task every administrator completes. Resident managers at UNC have consistently stated that this longitudinal HR experience is one of the most rewarding and most challenging experiences offered in the two-year HSPA residency. The involvement of HSPA residents in longitudinal management responsibilities furthers residents' leadership success by providing trained managers who are ready to immerse themselves into practice postresidency, having employee engagement and HR skills as well as experiences with leading operational improvements. CONCLUSION: A longitudinal HR management experience was successfully incorporated into an HSPA residency combined Master of Science degree program.

Characteristics of Social and Administrative Sciences graduate programs and strategies for student recruitment and future faculty development in the United States.

BACKGROUND: The rising demand of faculty in Social and Administrative Sciences (SAS) in pharmacy in the United States heightens the need to increase the number of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) graduates in SAS who choose to pursue an academic career. OBJECTIVES: To describe the characteristics of SAS graduate programs and graduate students and identify strategies for student recruitment and future faculty development. METHODS: An Internet survey (phase I) with key informants (graduate program officers/department chairs) and semistructured telephone interviews (phase II) with phase I respondents were used. Items solicited data on recruitment strategies, number of students, stipends, support, and other relevant issues pertaining to graduate program administration. Descriptive statistics were tabulated. RESULTS: Of the 40 SAS graduate programs identified and contacted, 24 completed the Internet survey (response rate [RR]=60.0%) and, of these, 16 completed the telephone interview (RR=66.7%). At the time of the survey, the median number of graduate students with a U.S.-based PharmD degree was 3. An average annual stipend for graduate assistants was $20,825. The average time to PhD degree completion was 4.57 years, and approximately 31% of PhD graduates entered academia. Various strategies for recruitment and future faculty development were identified and documented. CONCLUSIONS: Findings allow SAS graduate programs to benchmark against other institutions with respect to their own achievement/strategies to remain competitive in student recruitment and development. Additional research is needed to determine the success of various recruitment strategies and identify potential new ones.

The status of PhD education in economic, social, and administrative sciences between 2005 and 2008.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the funding, education, enrollment, and graduation patterns from economic, social, and administrative sciences PhD programs in colleges and schools of pharmacy in the United States. METHODS: Economic, social, and administrative sciences PhD programs were identified from the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) Web site. A 41-item online survey instrument was sent to the director of graduate studies of each identified program. Only programs offering a PhD degree were included in the study. RESULTS: Of the 26 programs surveyed, 20 (77%) provided useable responses to the survey instrument. Approximately 91% of PhD programs guarantee funding to incoming students with an average commitment of 2.9 years. On average, students were paid a stipend of $18,000 per year for commitments to research and teaching assistantships, each averaging approximately 2 years in length. Programs admitted an average of 3.5 students per year and graduated approximately 85% of entering students. The majority of students are non-US citizens and accept positions in either academic or industrial positions after graduation. CONCLUSIONS: Most economic, social, and administrative sciences PhD programs guarantee funding to incoming PhD candidates. Programs offering funding packages significantly below the average may be at a competitive disadvantage. It is unclear whether the number of students graduating from PhD programs is adequate to fulfill academic and industrial needs.

Effect of strategic planning education on attitudes and perceptions of independent community pharmacy owners/managers.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of formal education program participation on the attitudes and perceptions of independent community pharmacy owners/managers toward strategic planning. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: United States; June 4-July 30, 2004. PARTICIPANTS: Nationwide random sample of 1,250 owners/managers of independent community pharmacies. INTERVENTION: Mailed survey. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Strategic planning formal education program participation. Comprehensiveness of strategic planning. Attitudes and perceptions of owners/managers of independent community pharmacies toward strategic planning. RESULTS: A total of 527 (42.1%) usable questionnaires were returned. Only 124 (23.5%) respondents indicated that they participated in a formal strategic planning education program. However, of the 141 (26.85%) respondents who indicated that they had conducted strategic planning for their community pharmacy, 111 (89.5%) had participated in a formal strategic planning education program. A significant association was detected between formal education program participation and the conducting of strategic planning (P< or =0.0001). Significant differences were observed for all attitudes and perceptions of independent community pharmacy owners/managers toward strategic planning based on program participation (P< or =0.0001). Finally, respondents who indicated that they had participated in a formal education program had a significantly higher comprehensiveness of strategic planning rating than those respondents who did not participate in an educational program (P< or =0.0001). CONCLUSION: A significant association exists between formal strategic planning education program participation and the conducting of strategic planning by owner/managers of independent community pharmacies, and those participating in such programs have significantly different attitudes and perceptions toward the conducting of strategic planning and have a significantly higher comprehensiveness of strategic planning rating.

Defining the competencies of those conducting pharmacovigilance.

PURPOSE: The absence of agreed competencies in pharmacovigilance and patient risk management is a key factor hindering the development of training and a curriculum in these interrelated disciplines. If competencies were to be developed, they could be tailored to the different roles and responsibilities of the various staff involved. PROPOSAL: We describe a simple theoretical model of functional and behavioural competencies that is based on an organisation with three levels of staff: evidence collectors and gatherers, evidence processors and distillers, and decision makers. CONCLUSIONS: To stimulate discussion about how to enhance the progress already being made in pharmacovigilance and patient risk management, we have proposed functional and behavioural competencies for pharmacovigilance as a way of identifying and measuring scientific and personal skills pertinent to pharmacovigilance. Competencies should, we believe, be agreed and adopted by all those seeking to improve pharmacovigilance. We invite discussion of these proposals.

Influence of a nontraditional master's degree on graduates' career paths.

Graduates' assessments of the University of Texas at Austin's nontraditional M.S. degree program in pharmacy administration were studied. A survey was constructed to assess the impact of the master's program on career advancement, to examine why pharmacists enrolled in the program, and to determine if the curriculum provided knowledge or developed skills that were practical or beneficial. The survey was mailed in April 1999 to all persons who had completed the program between 1990 and 1998. A total of 56 graduates responded, for a response rate of 90.3%. The three reasons for entering the program most frequently cited as most important were career advancement, personal development, and the desire to change job responsibilities. Thirty-four respondents (60.7%) reported receiving a promotion or changing jobs for a higher position while they were enrolled in the program or after completing it. Of these 34 respondents, 29 (85.3%) attributed their promotion or new job to the master's degree. On average, graduates reported that the knowledge and skills obtained through the program had been useful in their practice. The benefits of the program that were cited most frequently were management skills, competencies in areas of pharmacy business, opportunity to advance career, job satisfaction, and competitive advantage when applying for a job. A nontraditional master's degree program in pharmacy administration had a positive impact on the career paths of graduates.

Indicadores de calidad de la prescripción farmacológica basado en el consumo farmaceútico / Quality indicatives of hte pharmacological prescription based on pharmaceutical consumption

Objetivo: el objetivo de este trabajo es doble: por una parte sentar las bases metodológicas para el desarrollo de indicadores basados en datos de consumo farmacéutico. Por otra diseñar un conjunto de indicadores y proponer valores óptimos que puedan servir para la mejora de calidad de prescripción en atención primaria. Material y métodos: se creó un grupo de expertos que debía tomar sus decisiones por consenso. El procedimiento de trabajo se basó en la selección de los grupos farmacológicos más relevantes en atención primaria y en la propuesta inicial de un gran número de indicadores de consumo de principios activos expresados en Dosis Diarias Definidas. Tras analizar su significación y potencial utilidad y efectuar su seguimiento en diversas áreas del Insalud, se seleccionó un conjunto reducido para los que, en su mayoría, se han propuesto valores óptimos. Para la determinación de los valores óptimos se han considerado tanto los datos históricos de consumo, como datos epidemiológicos y diversos estudios internacionales. Únicamente en un grupo muy reducido de indicadores no se han establecido estos valores óptimos, por estimarse más oportuna la fijación de estándares locales, en función de las circunstancias epidemiológicas y sociosanitarias particulares. Resultados: se han propuesto indicadores de consumo para principios activos de utilidad terapéutica alta de los siguientes grupos: Antiulcerosos, antidiabéticos orales, hipolipemiantes, antiagregantes plaquetarios antihipertensivos, antiinflamatorios no esteroideos, analgésicos narcóticos, tratamiento de la hiperplasia benigna de próstata, tranquilizantes e hipnóticos, antidepresivos, antibióticos y antiasmáticos. Además, se proponen otra serie de indicadores seleccionados por completar la aproximación a la calidad desde perspectivas complementarias a la estricta relevancia farmacológica. Entre ellos se encuentran indicadores de eficiencia, de utilización de genéricos, de adhesión a la guía farmacológica, de novedad terapéutica sin aportación relevante y de alerta. Conclusiones: el análisis del consumo farmacéutico puede ser una herramienta muy útil para evaluar la calidad en la prescripción farmacológica, ya que permite detectar con facilidad consumos excesivos y/o ineficientes, puede identificar el uso de medicamentos ineficaces y permite comparaciones sencillas y fáciles de interpretar, a partir de una toma de datos sencilla y fiable. Sin embargo, tiene como limitaciones la dificultad de relacionar de relacionar el diagnóstico con la indicación y el hecho de que no siempre lo consumido es igual a lo prescrito. Se espera que este primer grupo de indicadores propuestos sean discutidos, mejorados y ampliados por todo el colectivo de profesionales interesados en el tema (AU)

1998 national clinical pharmacy services study.

This study determined the extent of hospital-based clinical pharmacy services in 950 United States acute care, general, medical-surgical, and pediatric hospitals with 50 or more licensed beds in 1998 and compared results with data from similar national surveys in 1989, 1992, and 1995. Fifteen clinical pharmacy services were assessed to determine pharmacists' specific patient care responsibilities. Two services increased substantially over both the 9-year period and between 1995 and 1998: drug therapy protocol management and clinical pharmacokinetics consultations, which were offered in 70% and 80% of hospitals in 1998, respectively. Pharmacists' provision of in-service programs decreased 6% between 1995 and 1998, whereas other services remained constant. Pharmacists conducted clinical research in 14% of hospitals in 1998, averaging 7.2 +/- 19.7 protocols/department annually; total budget was $224,572 +/- 753,321; and mean clinical research funding increased 2.3-fold between 1995 and 1998. Clinical pharmacy services continue to expand, with pharmacists providing higher-level direct patient care related to drug therapy management and pharmacokinetics consultations.

Impact of an executive-level management program.

Program teaches management skills beyond those taught in pharmacy school. Pharmacists benefit not only from educational growth but also from networking opportunities. Alumni report that the program has had a positive impact on their personal and career objectives, their department, and their organization. Involvement of administrators helps pharmacy directors take home solutions to specific problems for immediate implementation.