Bridging the gap between pharmacy student and professional with a student developed pocket reference.

Introduction: The challenging transition from learner to practicing pharmacist is frequently cited in the literature. This difficulty is due in part to a prodigious shift from utilizing class notes to assessing national guidelines. Students who create and use a pocket reference that combines their lecture material with current guidelines may become more proficient at navigating guidelines and adhering to treatment algorithms when on rotations, in residency, and as a professional.

Crash and traffic violation rates before and after licensure for novice California drivers subject to different driver licensing requirements.

Introduction: How do crash and traffic violation rates for novice 16-17-year-old drivers change over the months before and after licensure under a graduated driver licensing (GDL) program relative to those for older novices who are not subject to GDL?

Method: Plots and Poisson regression comparing overall rates and subtypes of crashes and traffic violations among California novice drivers ages 16 to 35 years over time before and after unsupervised licensure.

Results: Majorities of 16-year-olds (57%) and 17-year-olds (73%) actually hold their learner permits longer than the required 6 months; majorities (67%-81%) of age 18 or older novices hold their learner permits less than 6 months. Crash rates of novice 16- and 17-year-olds-as well as most other age groups-are highest almost immediately after they are licensed to drive unsupervised, after which their rates decline quickly during their first year of licensure and at a slower rate for the second and third years.

Non-compliance with graduated driver licensing (GDL) requirements: changes in GDL-related conviction rates over time among 16-17-year-old California drivers.

Introduction: Self-reports by novice teen drivers in California and elsewhere suggest that many violate graduated driver licensing (GDL) nighttime and passenger restrictions, and to a lesser extent, drive on learner permits without being supervised. Is this corroborated by their traffic conviction records?

Method: We examined historical aggregated conviction rates for GDL-related violations before and after GDL, and Poisson regressions of conviction rates over time among 16-17-year-old California novices.

Results: During the year before they received their provisional licenses, <1% of 16-year-old novices and <2% of 17-year-old novices were convicted of driving unlicensed or unsupervised on their learner permits.

The effectiveness of home-study driver education compared to classroom instruction: the impact on student knowledge and attitudes.

Problem: Home-study driver education programs exist in several states, but none have been scientifically evaluated to determine if such courses are as effective as classroom courses for teaching driver education.

Method: Over 1,300 students were randomly assigned to classroom instruction, or CD ROM, workbook, or Internet/workbook home-study courses and compared on proctored exit examination knowledge and attitude scores, and written knowledge test outcomes.

Results: Few differences were found on exit examination knowledge and attitude scores, but they tended to favor the CD and Internet/workbook home-study courses over the classroom or workbook courses.