Innovations in Pharmacy最新文献

Cannabis is indigenous to many African countries. Despite this, the legalization of cannabis for industrial, medical, and economic purposes is not uniform. However, there is a growing interest in cannabis use for medical purposes in Africa. Pharmacists are best equipped to provide clinical advice and oversight in the safe management, production, and dispensing of medical cannabis on the continent. In this article, we share our perception as pharmacists regarding the medical use of cannabis and the possible roles of pharmacists in maximizing its use in Africa.

Despite a population of over 89 million people, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has just 30 local pharmaceutical manufacturers (DRC) with the majority of manufacturers based in Kinshasa, the capital city. Of the total number of pharmaceutical products sold in the DRC, just 10% accounts for those manufactured locally. The DRC remains dependent on other countries such as China and India for the supply of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) -thus, local pharmaceutical manufacturing is therefore reliant on imported commodities and industrial machinery. Given the relevance of the pharmaceutical industry, it is vital to pay careful attention to the problems affecting it. Here, we assess the current situation of pharmaceutical manufacturing in the DRC, examine current challenges, and provide solutions for future development.

Description of the problem: Providing experiential experiences for student pharmacists within health systems can be challenging for schools of pharmacy. Establishing clinical faculty practices within health systems enables schools to increase student placements, however the clinical faculty typically prioritize experiential education within their individual clinical practice and may not be positioned to develop experiential education opportunities across the site. Description of the innovation: A novel clinical faculty position, the experiential liaison (EL), established at the school's largest health system partner to focus on improving the quality and quantity of experiential education across an academic medical center (AMC). Critical analysis: University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science (SSPPS) identified interested preceptors, recognized and coordinated preceptor development, and facilitated development of quality experiential activities within the site through the establishment of the EL position. Since the establishment of the EL position, student placement at the site increased to 34% of SSPPS's experiential placements in 2020. A high number of preceptors answered "strongly agree or agree" to understanding SSPPS's curriculum, expectations from the school, how to utilize assessment tools to measure student performance on rotation, and how to provide feedback to the school. Preceptor development opportunities are routine and effective, and the relationship between the school and hospital is collaborative. Implications: Establishing an experiential liaison clinical faculty position within a health system is a feasible strategy for schools to further increase experiential education placements in health systems.

Objective: A well-functioning healthcare team is important to optimizing the health outcomes of patients. As such, the use of Team Based Learning (TBL) in the education of health professionals has emerged as one of the more common active learning strategies. In various anecdotes with preceptors, it had been observed that student pharmacists educated in a TBL classroom exhibited increased skills in the affective domain. This qualitative pilot study begins to examine affective domain skills that are important to pharmacy practice and which of those skills may be developed uniquely through TBL. Methods: Random samples of preceptors and students (first through fourth-year cohorts), were engaged using a predesigned interview protocol to guide the discussion. Ad hoc questions resulting from the interview were also captured. A grounded theory approach was utilized to develop an a priori theme codebook that was utilized to analyze the interviews with preceptors and focus groups with students. Results: Nine preceptors were interviewed, and 23 student pharmacists participated in focus groups. Preceptors identified 1) communication, 2) emotional intelligence, 3) education, 4) time management, and 5) advocacy as the top themes important to being a leader. While students identified 1) communicate with or listen to others, 2) accountability/responsibility, 3) patience, 4) self-reflection / feedback as skills developed by TBL. Participants indicated that they believed that TBL was a contributor to the development of affective domain skills among student pharmacists. Conclusion: Among preceptors and student pharmacists, this initial study found both alignment and divergence with identified skills in the affective domain related to the development of leadership skills. Additional research is needed to further explore and develop an instrument to measure the role of TBL in affective skill development, in the context of being a leader in the pharmacy profession.

Introduction: Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a key therapeutic strategy for HIV prevention. Descovy^® is the most recently approved oral agent for PrEP. Despite availability, there continues to be suboptimal PrEP use among at-risk individuals. Social media platforms have a role in disseminating health information, to include education on PrEP. Material and methods: A content analysis was conducted of "tweets" posted on Twitter^® during the initial year of Descovy's FDA approval for PrEP. The coding schema captured content related to the indication, appropriate use, costs, and safety profile of Descovy. Results: Most tweets provided information on target population, dosing strategy, and side effects of Descovy. Information on costs and appropriate use was frequently missing. Conclusion: Health educators and providers should be aware of gaps in social media messaging concerning PrEP and should educate patients to ensure they are well informed when considering PrEP.

The Problem: Leadership and clinical-pharmacy advancement training are lacking during post-graduate pharmacy internships in Nigeria. Objective: To design and develop a leadership and clinical-pharmacy advancement training curriculum for intern pharmacists. Innovation: The curriculum was designed to include leadership development, process improvement, and project management, with a culminating capstone project, using the analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation (ADDIE) model. Twelve intern-pharmacists were selected representing three pharmacy schools and four hospitals in Nigeria. Baseline assessments included previous exposure to module topics, beliefs, and level of comfort with module skills. Findings: The leadership curriculum was developed and tested on 12 intern pharmacists. Their average age±SD was 23.4±1.9 years and 7(58.3%) of the participants were males. The participants had received previous training in leadership (33.3%), project management (16.7%), and process improvement (16.7%). In addition, 91.6% believed intern pharmacists could be leaders in advancing clinical pharmacy practice. Conclusion: The leadership and clinical-pharmacy advancement training curriculum was designed and developed using the ADDIE model for intern-pharmacists, who were highly prepared.

The focus of this commentary is on the attempt to create EQ-5D-3L ordinal preferences from a disease specific asthma questionnaire, the Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (AQLQ). The question is whether it is possible from the perspective of fundamental measurement to create a simple linear algorithm to map AQLQ scores to EQ-5D-3L preferences. It is proposed that this is mathematically impossible as the aggregate AQLQ score is ordinal, apart from the fact that the AQLQ is a multiattribute score that lacks construct validity and any pretense to having interval properties. Disallowing the mapped utilities means that the modelling cannot be sustained. It is proposed that the focus should be on single attribute measures of the latent construct "need fulfillment quality of life". These measures would meet the required standards of Rasch Measurement Theory (RMT) applying simultaneous conjoint standards of measurement theory, as well as capturing the patient voice.

Study Objective: To explore the impact of reading and critically reflecting upon professional development guidance provided by pharmacy experts upon student professional identity formation (PIF). Methods: Fifteen second professional year student pharmacists completed an elective course assignment to read 20 published personal letters from Letters to a Young Pharmacist, in which pharmacy experts offer career and life guidance to novice or student pharmacists. From those, each student selected four letters and for each composed a 500 to 600-word critical reflection describing the impact of the letter, yielding 60 reflections for thematic analysis. Each author individually analyzed and coded de-identified reflections for up to 3 types of impact. Data were then grouped for similarity and collapsed into themes; overarching evidence of transformative thinking and "eye-opening" were also coded. Results: Of 60 reflections, 160 types of impact were identified, and were grouped into five themes. Most often, students described an impact from Personal Growth (41.3%), followed by Professional Growth (16.9%), Forging Relationships (16.2%), Making an Impact (15%) and Morality (10.6%). "Eye-opening" and "transformative thinking" was evidenced in 21 of 60 (35%) and 53 of 60 (88.3%) reflections, respectively. Conclusions: Student pharmacists experienced growth in PIF by reflecting upon published excerpts from pharmacy experts, as demonstrated by coding for impact and transformative thinking. This novel method of students' critically reflecting upon expert's readings, followed by instructor feedback to reinforce the learning, offers a streamlined and easily implemented modality to enable students PIF development during their didactic curriculum.

Introduction: Residency interviews offer an opportunity for both candidates and programs to evaluate whether the pairing is a good fit. Multiple mini interviews (MMIs) have been incorporated into interviews for medical training as a way to evaluate non-cognitive abilities. Objectives: To determine how candidates perceived the interview process at our institution, specifically related to the MMIs. Methods: This retrospective review evaluated candidates' perceptions of traditional interviews and MMIs through post-interview surveys over a 3-year period. Candidates evaluated the interview activities, time allowed for MMIs, and overall impression of the program during the 2-week period between submitting rank lists and the release of match results. Survey results are reported using descriptive statistics. Candidate perceptions on their ability to showcase skills in different types of interviews was evaluated with chi-square test. Results: The interview day increased the desire to pursue residency at our institution for 88% of candidates. Candidates reported similar ability to showcase skills developed during pharmacy school through the clinical and patient education MMIs compared to traditional interviews; however, they did not feel the collaboration MMI showcased their abilities as well as traditional MMIs. Conclusion: The introduction of MMIs to the residency interview day were perceived positively by most candidates and allowed candidates to showcase abilities in a different manner from traditional interviews.

Objective: Virtual patient (VP) cases are a valuable learning tool for students, used to apply classroom knowledge and develop clinical skills. It is unknown whether exposure to multiple VP cases helps students develop self-regulated learning (SRL). We sought to learn more about how students engaged in SRL as they made goals for approaching patient care during repeated exposure to cases. Methods: Second-year students (N=211) were invited to participate in an online survey. Students were surveyed before and/or after completing three VP cases. Each survey consisted of two open-ended questions. Prior to each case, students were asked "How will you change the sequence of your approach to completing the VP assessment today, if at all?" and after each case, "What more do you have to learn in order to approach similar real-life patient assessments?" A thematic analysis was conducted on open-ended survey responses. Results: One hundred and seventy pre-case and 242 post-case responses were received. The most common themes identified in pre-case surveys were a need for a more systematic approach and specific strategies for executing the patient care process. Some students had no plans for approaching VP cases. The most common themes identified in post-case surveys were knowledge gaps of medical conditions, therapeutics, and lab tests. Conclusion: VPs provided students the opportunity to self-identify gaps in knowledge and plan to strengthen their clinical reasoning skills. More research is needed to understand the relationship between VP cases, instructional guidance for supporting SRL and the realities of the intended benefits to students' learning and practice.