Tools for Assessing Communication in Pharmacy Education: Review and Recommendations.

Objectives: Well-developed and finely tuned communication skills are foundational for pharmacists and should be at the core of Doctor of Pharmacy curricula. This narrative review aimed to identify and summarize useful instruments for pharmacy educators interested in assessing communication skills.

Findings: Fifty-seven studies were evaluated.

Evaluation of Cocurricular Learning and the Influence of Student Choice.

Objective: The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the students' choice of activities and perception of a cocurricular program (CCP). Attitude and skill development and areas for program improvement were also assessed.

Methods: Data were evaluated from 2 sources: a student survey administered to all Doctor of Pharmacy students to determine student perceptions of the CCP and barriers to success and student activity reporting data from postexperience submissions to evaluate the CCP.

Cultivating emotional intelligence in general surgery residents through a patient-centered experience.

Background: Emotional intelligence (EI) can decrease physician burnout. EI and burnout were assessed in surgical residents through participation in Patient-Centric Resident Conferences (PCRCs), which incorporated patients in resident education. We hypothesized PCRCs would improve EI and reduce burnout.

Disaster planning for a surgical surge: when mass trauma threatens to overwhelm your operating rooms.

Mass casualty events particularly those requiring multiple simultaneous operating rooms are of increasing concern. Existing literature predominantly focuses on mass casualty care in the emergency department. Hospital disaster plans should include a component focused on preparing for multiple simultaneous operations.

Backward Design to Combat Curricular Expansion in a Large, Interdisciplinary, Team-Taught Course.

Objective: Recently, there have been calls to action to address curricular expansion, including modifying standards, using curricular analytics, and optimizing interdisciplinary collaboration, all of which focus on program-level changes. The primary objective of this study was to describe how the process of backward design can be used as a strategy to reduce curricular expansion at the individual course level while maintaining student performance and decreasing student and coordinator stress.

Methods: Backward design was applied to a large, interdisciplinary, team-taught pharmacotherapy course to identify opportunities to reduce content volume and align assessment content with course objectives.

The Challenge of Curricular Overload in the Pharmacy Academy.

The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Council of Faculties commissioned a task force during the 2021-2022 academic year to examine the problem of curricular overload. As a result of this task force and the Academy-wide discussions around curricular overload, a consensus has formed around the significance of defining and addressing this challenge. Many institutions have begun work on identifying solutions to curricular overload.

Tracking carbon from subduction to outgassing along the Aleutian-Alaska Volcanic Arc.

Subduction transports volatiles between Earth's mantle, crust, and atmosphere, ultimately creating a habitable Earth. We use isotopes to track carbon from subduction to outgassing along the Aleutian-Alaska Arc. We find substantial along-strike variations in the isotopic composition of volcanic gases, explained by different recycling efficiencies of subducting carbon to the atmosphere via arc volcanism and modulated by subduction character.

Patterns of Prescription Medication Use during the First Trimester of Pregnancy in the United States, 1997-2018.

The objective of this analysis was to describe patterns of prescription medication use during pregnancy, including secular trends, with consideration of indication, and distributions of use within demographic subgroups. We conducted a descriptive secondary analysis using data from 9,755 women whose infants served as controls in two large United States case-control studies from 1997-2011 and 2014-2018. After excluding vitamin, herbal, mineral, vaccine, i.

How well do we understand our patients' perioperative experience? A qualitative analysis of themes derived from patient-centric resident conferences.

Background: Patient-centric resident conferences (PCRCs) provide meaningful time to connect with and learn from patients. This qualitative study explores themes of patients' perioperative experiences from PCRCs through patient and resident perspectives.

Methods: General Surgery residents participated in six PCRCs, which include condensed standard didactics to accommodate a patient panel regarding their perioperative experience.

Improving Knowledge of Top 200 Medications Through Retrieval Practice, Content Alignment, and Autonomous Learning.

To determine the impact of the holistic redesign of top 200 medications learning activities within a Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) curriculum by comparing student performances on a comprehensive examination before and after the redesign. During a curricular revision at The Ohio State University College of Pharmacy that began with the class of 2020, learning activities involving the top 200 medications were implemented that involved repeated retrieval and mastery concepts, alignment with therapeutic coursework, and autonomous learning regarding the top 200 medications. A high-stakes comprehensive top 200 medications examination was administered to students at the end of their third professional year both before and after implementation of these activities.

Have Students Used Techniques to Stop the Bleed?

Introduction: The Stop the Bleed course was initiated in response to the Hartford Consensus and over 1 million people have been taught basic bleeding control techniques. Our study sought to determine the extent to which this training has been utilized.

Methods: Surveys were sent by email to students that had taken the Stop the Bleed course through our institution in 2017 or 2018.

Long term outcomes in older trauma patients admitted to the ICU: A prospective study.

Background: Prior studies have shown an increase in mortality in elderly patients when compared to their younger cohort.

Methods: Level 1 trauma patients ≥50 years old were recruited upon admission to the ICU and prospectively followed. After an initial survey, inpatient data were collected and phone surveys were completed at 3 and 6 months.

Preferences and Predictions Regarding Palliative Care in the Trauma Intensive Care Unit.

Introduction: In the older intensive care unit (ICU) trauma population, it is common to have to make decisions about end-of-life. We sought to demonstrate uncertainty of patients and providers in this area.

Methods: Our study is a prospective observational study of trauma patients 50 years and older admitted to the ICU.

Identification of Sarcopenia in Elderly Trauma Patients: The Value of Clinical Competency and Experience.

Introduction: There is currently no standard definition of sarcopenia, which has often been associated with frailty. A commonly cited surrogate measure of sarcopenia is psoas muscle size. The purpose of this prospective study is to assess medical providers' capabilities to identify frail elderly trauma patients and consequent impact on outcomes after intensive care unit admission.

Transanal total mesorectal excision outcomes for advanced rectal cancer in a complex surgical population.

Background: Total mesorectal excision (TME) is the gold standard for oncologic resection in low and mid rectal cancers. However, abdominal approaches to TME can be hampered by poor visibility, inadequate retraction, and distal margin delineation. Transanal TME (taTME) is a promising hybrid technique that was developed to mitigate the difficulties of operating in the low pelvis and to optimize the circumferential resection and distal margins.

Tracheostomy in Patients on Venovenous Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation: Is It Safe?

Background: The anticoagulation and coagulopathy associated with venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO) lead to concern for increased risks of tracheostomy. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety of tracheostomy in patients on VV-ECMO.

Methods: Patients admitted between November 2015 and January 2019 to a dedicated intensive care unit for VV-ECMO were reviewed retrospectively.

Revitalizing the Patient-Surgeon Relationship: Surgical Curriculum Including the Patient Perspective.

Objective: General Surgery residents have increasing obligations that limit time with patients. This affects the patient-physician relationship, decreases meaning in work and increases burnout. Patient-Centric Resident Conferences (PCRC) incorporate patients in resident didactics to promote meaning in work and improve resident confidence in counseling and consenting patients for surgery.

Readmission after emergency general surgery.

Background: Readmission rates are an important metric because they enable an evaluation of care and affect Medicare funding. This study evaluates factors contributing to readmission after emergency general surgery.

Methods: The Virginia Health Information database was used to identify patients who had undergone the most common emergency general surgery procedures from 1/2011-6/2016.

Identifying High-Impact and Managing Low-Impact Assessment Practices.

Those in pharmacy education who are tasked with assessment may be overwhelmed by deadlines, data collection, and reporting, leaving little time to pause and examine the effectiveness of their efforts. However, assessment practices must be evaluated for their impact, including their ability to answer important questions, use resources effectively, and contribute to meaningful educational change. Often assessments are implemented, but then attention is diverted to another assessment before the data from the former assessment can be fully interpreted or used.

Benign Anal Disease: Implementation of an Educational Program Across Specialties.

Background: Benign anal diseases, including hemorrhoids, fissures, abscesses, fistulas, and anal condylomata, affect 10%-15% of our population. Most patients seen by nonsurgical providers experience delayed treatment. We examined at our institution whether an educational session on anorectal diseases would benefit trainees from medical and surgical specialties.

Employment Trends for Doctor of Pharmacy Graduates of Research-Intensive Institutions, 2013-2017.

To determine the current state of employment for doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) graduates based on 5-year trends among graduates of research-intensive institutions and the Pharmacist Demand Index. Data from a cross-sectional survey of PharmD graduates from 10 research-intensive colleges of pharmacy conducted over a 5-year period were used to generate an overview of graduating students' experiences and the outcomes of their job searches. The average response rate of graduates of programs over the 5 years was 75.

Early Use of a Chest Trauma Protocol in Elderly Patients with Rib Fractures Improves Pulmonary Outcomes.

Rib fractures are among the most common injuries identified in blunt trauma patients. Morbidity increases with increasing age and increasing number of rib fractures. The use of noninvasive ventilation has been shown to be helpful as a rescue technique avoiding intubation in patients who have become hypoxemic but little data with regard to its use to prophylactically prevent worsening respiratory status are available.

Discussion of preoperative mammography in women undergoing reduction mammaplasty.

Purpose: Reduction mammaplasty is one of the most common procedures performed by plastic surgeons. Previous studies demonstrated that most plastic surgeons do not require preoperative mammography prior to reduction mammaplasty. The incidental discovery of malignant or high-risk lesions in breast reduction specimens may preclude the possibility of breast-conserving surgery.