Evaluation of the leadership strengths of the officers serving within an APhA-ASP chapter: Implications for the profession.

Background And Purpose: To evaluate the strengths of the officers who recently served within an American Pharmacists Association Academy of Student Pharmacists (APhA-ASP) chapter and to discuss the potential impacts of these strengths upon the pharmacy profession.

Educational Activity And Setting: The chapter officers from the Classes of 2010-2016 (n = 67; 66% female) voluntarily participated in a variety of leadership development programs created by the chapter advisors. Each of these programs included activities based upon the book, Strengths Based Leadership, and the determination of each officer's top five strengths using the StrengthsFinder 2.

An evaluation of student performance and perceptions within an integrated pharmaceutics course sequence.

Background And Purpose: To describe the design of an integrated pharmaceutics course sequence and to assess the sequence by evaluating both student performance and perceptions.

Educational Activity And Setting: The non-sterile products portion of a pharmaceutics course sequence was designed to integrate the disciplines of physical pharmacy, dosage forms, pharmacy compounding, and pharmaceutical calculations and to include the respective topics deemed most relevant to doctor of pharmacy curriculum. The appropriate course content was organized in a modular format that began with the general concepts of drug product administration, preparation, stability, and performance and then specifically applied these concepts to a variety of non-sterile dosage forms.

Compounding practices and beliefs of Arizona pharmacists.

Only a few studies have attempted to evaluate various aspects of pharmacy compounding such as the compounding practices and beliefs of pharmacists. Although these studies have reported valuable information, there remains a need to thoroughly assess this professional practice. The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of pharmacy compounding within Arizona, the reasons for which Arizona pharmacists do not participate in compounding, and the beliefs of Arizona pharmacists regarding contemporary compounding issues.

Overview of oral modified-release opioid products for the management of chronic pain.

Objective: To evaluate pharmaceutical and pharmacotherapeutic differences in oral opioid modified-release products used in the management of chronic pain.

Data Sources: Searches of MEDLINE (1966-May 2006) and an extensive review of peer reviewed journals were conducted using the key search terms opioid, morphine, hydromorphone, and oxycodone. Supplemental information was gathered through the American Pain Society, and limited but relevant information was obtained from manufacturers' labeling.

Growth inhibition, drug load, and degradation studies of gelatin/methotrexate conjugates.

Macromolecular gelatin-methotrexate conjugates have potential therapeutic advantages over the free drug. Conjugates with MTX:gelatin molar ratios (MR) ranging from 1:1 to 27:1 were examined for cell growth inhibition, stability, degradation, and methotrexate (MTX) release. Conjugate growth inhibition was less than that of free MTX whose IC(50) value of 1.

In vitro evaluation of extemporaneously compounded slow-release capsules containing morphine sulfate or oxycodone hydrochloride.

The in vitro performance of extemporaneously compounded morphine sulfate and oxycodone hydrochloride slow-release capsules was evaluated. Capsules containing varying amoutns of morphine sulfate (15, 60, 200 mg) or oxycodone hydrochloride (10, 80, 200 mg) were prepared and provided by a Phoenix, Arizona, pharmacy. The capsules also contained 40% Methocel E4M Premium to slow the release of their active ingredient and sufficient lactose to fill the capsules.