Publications by authors named "Melissa Ruble"

Background And Purpose: Safe and accurate dispensing of medications is an essential skill. Pharmacy schools must provide students with the knowledge and practice to enhance special population dispensing skills. The objective of this study is to describe a community pharmacy pediatric simulation completed by first-year pharmacy students and to review student perceptions on confidence and knowledge learned after a MyDispense (Monash University) simulation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: This is a final analysis of longitudinal evaluation of burnout and empathy among a cohort of Doctor of Pharmacy students throughout their 4-year enrollment.

Methods: The class of 2021 received sequential Qualtrics (Qualtrics, Provo, UT) surveys containing 2 validated survey instruments, the Jefferson Scale of Empathy and the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Surveys were disseminated at the start of the program (PY1) and the end of each academic year (PY1, PY2, PY3, PY4).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

There is a significant lack of literature exploring or describing pharmacy student well-being during experiential learning even though students spend 30% of their doctor of pharmacy curricula in this environment. Drawing on inspiration from literature describing well-being challenges and solutions for pharmacy residents and other health disciplines, this commentary explores the unique challenges of supporting pharmacy student well-being during experiential education. Approaches for interventions are described along with a call to action for the academy.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background And Purpose: Pharmacy capstone exams are an example of an assessment strategy to evaluate student competency and practice-readiness. Capstone exam processes have been discussed in the literature; however, description of format, evolution of the process, and implementation in the year prior to rotations is lacking. This manuscript discusses the development, implementation, and utilization of a third professional year pharmacy capstone exam to assess advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) readiness.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Resilience aids healthcare professionals in navigating through and bouncing back from stressful situations in the workplace. Resilience can increase job satisfaction, work motivation, and professional commitment while decreasing burnout, and ultimately job turnover. More resilient employees experience lower instances of burnout and greater life satisfaction.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

To assess the impact of variable leadership development program formats on perceived participant growth. In 2020, the Phi Lambda Sigma national office began offering national Leader Academies to members, while University of South Florida Health Taneja College of Pharmacy simultaneously offered a Leader Academy program to its Phi Lambda Sigma students. Both programs used virtual leadership development tools from GiANT Worldwide, but differed in meeting frequency, content focus, and participant diversity.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background And Purpose: Critical thinking and problem solving are two skills required to be a successful pharmacist. These skills are often difficult to teach and assess within the classroom. Cognitive apprenticeship theory has been discussed in literature to foster the cognitive and meta-cognitive processes of thinking.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: To determine the impact of emergent transition from in-person to remote learning on student performance within real-time objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs).

Methods: A university mandate, due to severe SARS-CoV-2, was issued requiring didactic courses to transition to remote learning in spring 2020. The third-year internal medicine elective had six remaining weekly OSCEs, accounting for 55% of course grades.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Emotional intelligence (EI) is known to improve teamwork, communication, and organizational commitment. The role of EI has also influenced pharmacists' ability to empathize, control emotions, and actively listen. Although EI's impact on work-related components, including occupational stress, job performance, and psychological affective well-being, has been studied, there are no data specific to the practice of pharmacy.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Continuing education (CE) standards by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education emphasize that educational methodologies should contribute to the development of participants' critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Employment of serious gaming can meet this expectation through motivation, timely feedback, and challenging all performance levels. Current literature is lacking regarding use of game-based learning, such as "escape rooms" in pharmacy CE programming.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: To review interim data regarding longitudinal burnout and empathy levels in a single Doctor of Pharmacy class cohort.

Methods: Students were emailed an electronic survey during their first semester and annually at the end of each academic year for a total of 3 years (2017-2020). Validated survey tools included the Jefferson Scale of Empathy (JSE) and the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) student version.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • A literature search was conducted to assess the mechanism, efficacy, and safety of new agents undergoing phase 3 clinical trials for biopsy-proven nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) using specific MeSH terms and databases.
  • Eleven studies were identified concerning various drugs such as obeticholic acid (OCA) and elafibranor, with OCA showing promising results for NASH resolution and a new drug approval application submitted, while elafibranor displayed no efficacy in its early trial outcomes but is undergoing further evaluation.
  • The increasing prevalence of NASH and limited treatment options highlight the importance of these novel agents, which could provide effective therapies and help prevent progression to more severe liver disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Regardless of the practice setting, pharmacists' roles often expand beyond patient-centered services and into health-related educational roles for patients, healthcare providers, and student pharmacists. Teaching roles of a clinical pharmacist can include providing invited presentations (such as continuing education lectures), teaching colleagues about new clinical initiatives, precepting students during advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs) and introductory pharmacy practice experiences (IPPEs), and precepting residents on rotations. This program was designed to evaluate the effect of a university-affiliated pharmacy teaching certificate program on participant knowledge and perceived confidence in specific areas of academic pharmacy and preceptor development.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

To assess the impact of peer-teaching on student scores and confidence when preparing for a final objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) within a Doctor of Pharmacy program. First-year pharmacy students (n=45) attended a peer-led training session led by upperclassmen (n=17) on a variety of clinical skills to be assessed on a final course OSCE. Their scores were collected and compared to students who did not attend the training.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The USF College of Pharmacy initiated a program to assess and enhance professionalism among students, faculty, preceptors, and staff, starting in 2013.
  • A Professionalism Task Force was formed to gather input on key professionalism factors from faculty and preceptors, leading to a factor analysis for evaluations in various areas like course syllabi and practice experiences.
  • The analysis resulted in the identification of factors for performance evaluations and informed the creation of a professionalization program aimed at providing support and development within the COP community.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objectives: To integrate fourth-year student pharmacists on advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) rotations within several different ambulatory clinics to perform medication reconciliations and enhance interdisciplinary practice.

Methods: The study design was a descriptive, prospective multisite study among a variety of ambulatory care outpatient clinics. Student pharmacists were partnered with physicians to conduct medication reconciliations during clinic visits for 4 hours per week, with data collection from January 2016 to September 2016.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF