Description of a Longitudinal Interprofessional Education Plan and Outcomes From an Inaugural Student Cohort.

Objective: To describe a longitudinal interprofessional education (IPE) plan at 1 school of pharmacy including inaugural student cohort outcomes.

Methods: Standards 2016 prompted the creation of an IPE task force at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Pharmacy to develop and implement an IPE plan consisting of outcome-based goals, a deliberate design, and a formalized assessment strategy (an approach that inspired national consensus guidance from the Health Professions Accreditors Collaborative). Beginning with the 2022 graduating class, required interprofessional learning activities were embedded longitudinally across a 4-year Doctor of Pharmacy program and included classroom-, simulation-, and clinical-based IPE activities.

Assessment of Patient Care Activities and Readiness for Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences in Revised Third-Year Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experiences.

Objective: To quantify the impact of a revised third-year (P3) introductory pharmacy practice experience (IPPE) curriculum on student opportunities for direct patient care and to evaluate student and preceptor perceptions of advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) readiness.

Methods: An intentional, structured curriculum redesign shifted 50 IPPE hours from each of the first- and second-years into the P3 year. A survey was developed and administered to students in the graduating classes of 2023 (original curriculum) and 2024 (revised curriculum) at the end of their first APPE rotation.

Rational Redesign of an Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience Curriculum.

Objective: To utilize a process to identify strengths and weaknesses of an introductory pharmacy practice experience (IPPE) curriculum from stakeholder perspectives and undergo IPPE curricular revision.

Methods: An IPPE curriculum redesign taskforce was created, and a 5-step systematic quality improvement process was developed and applied to redesign an IPPE curriculum. The steps were to identify existing curriculum challenges and strengths, determine potential solutions to challenges, redesign IPPE curricular structure, obtain stakeholder input and support, and redesign IPPE content.

A Call to Action for Integrating Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experiences With Purpose.

Introductory pharmacy practice experiences (IPPEs) are essential to exposing students to contemporary pharmacy practice and promoting advanced pharmacy practice experience readiness. An IPPE curriculum should be sequenced and progressive, with IPPE experiences built upon each other and coordinated with the didactic curriculum. Pharmacy programs are faced with several internal and external challenges that can influence the design and implementation of their IPPE curriculum.

Instrument development to determine student self-efficacy to present a patient to a pharmacy preceptor (4P).

Introduction: Effective patient assessment is often supported through simulated experiences where students identify potential drug-related problems (DRPs) through evaluation of the patient's electronic health record and verbally present their assessment and proposed resolutions for DRPs. This research aimed to initiate validation of a Patient Presentation to a Pharmacy Preceptor (4P) tool using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to examine underlying constructs, refine items, and improve tool conciseness. The 4P tool was designed to assess student self-efficacy to identify, assess, resolve, and verbally present DRPs to a pharmacy preceptor.

Antimicrobial stewardship in solid organ transplantation: Perspective from a Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

Background: The importance of antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) activities specifically focused on solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients is increasingly recognized. In 2014, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) created national guidance and committed resources to establish AMS programs at Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers across the country. However, the AMS implementation is at the discretion of individual VA centers.

Associating Student Performance in Pharmacy Practice Didactic and Skills-Based Courses With Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences.

To determine the association between pharmacy practice didactic course examinations and performance-based assessments with students' performance during their advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs). This retrospective analysis included data from the graduating classes of 2018 to 2020. Students were coded as APPE poor performers (final course grade <83%) or acceptable performers.

Application of consolidated framework for implementation research to improve Clostridioides difficile infection management in district hospitals.

Background: Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) contributes the global threats of drug resistant infections, healthcare acquired infections and antimicrobial resistance. Yet CDI knowledge among healthcare providers in low-resource settings is limited and CDI testing, treatment, and infection prevention measures are often delayed.

Objectives: to develop a CDI intervention informed by the local context within South African public district level hospitals, and analyze the CDI intervention and implementation process.

Revisions to a patient presentations curricula informed by longitudinal evaluation of student confidence.

Background And Purpose: Presentation of patient cases to a preceptor is a complex skill taught throughout the pharmacy curriculum. However, published literature to guide instruction on this skill is lacking. The objective of this project was to inform revisions to a patient presentations curriculum through measurement and evaluation of student confidence to perform skills necessary to effectively present a patient case to a preceptor.

Determination of Interrater Reliability of a Universal Evaluator Rubric to Assess Student Pharmacist Communication Skills.

To evaluate the interrater reliability of a universal evaluator rubric used to assess student pharmacist communication skills during patient education sessions. Six US schools and colleges of pharmacy each submitted 10 student videos of a simulated community pharmacy patient education session and recruited two raters in each of the five rater groups (faculty, standardized patients, postgraduate year one residents, student pharmacists, and pharmacy preceptors). Raters used a rubric containing 20 items and a global assessment to evaluate student communication of 12 videos.

Expert Consensus to Finalize a Universal Evaluator Rubric to Assess Pharmacy Students' Patient Communication Skills.

To use an expert consensus-building process to develop a rubric used by multiple evaluator types to assess Doctor of Pharmacy students' patient communication skills. Faculty and staff members from six schools and colleges of pharmacy collaborated on a multi-step expert consensus-building process to create the final version of a communication rubric. First, faculty and patient content experts evaluated each item in the rubric for its relevance, criticality, and global comprehensiveness using a five-point Likert scale (0=not at all, 4=to a high extent).

A state-level needs analysis of community pharmacy point-of-care testing.

Background: The uptake of point-of-care testing (POCT) within community pharmacies at state and national levels is largely unknown despite the endorsement and advocacy efforts of pharmacy organizations, recent legislative advances, and numerous models for successful POCT implementation within individual pharmacy sites.

Objectives: The study aimed to describe the current landscape of POCT in Wisconsin community pharmacies and identify opportunities for the advancement of testing and the key factors influencing the realization of these opportunities.

Methods: A survey was administered over the telephone to pharmacy managers of community pharmacies in Wisconsin.

Let External Stakeholders Be Your Guide to Curricular Revision.

Schools and colleges of pharmacy undertake curriculum revisions for a variety of reasons ranging from the reactionary (eg, responding to changes in practice patterns, accreditation standards) to the proactive (eg, striving for innovation and excellence). Continuous quality improvement processes and published curriculum models, both described in this commentary, should be used to guide revision processes. Equally important is engaging the expertise of external stakeholders.

Antibiotic assessment at hospital discharge-Room for stewardship intervention.

Our stewardship team evaluated 19 months of discharge antibiotic prescriptions to determine prescribing appropriateness and to characterize the interventions made. Intervention occurred in 9.7% of patients, with a 58% acceptance rate.

Development of a Holistic Assessment Plan to Evaluate a Four-Semester Laboratory Course Series.

To implement a holistic assessment plan to evaluate the impact of a four-semester laboratory course series entitled Integrated Pharmacotherapy Skills on students' readiness to begin advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs) following separation of the laboratory component from the Pharmacotherapy lecture component. Faculty prospectively selected and employed a variety of course assessment methods including student self- and preceptor evaluation during APPEs, course evaluations, and a student confidence survey to evaluate student readiness for APPEs and ensure a quality learning experience for students. APPE students' self-perceived confidence to perform skills increased after completion of the redesigned curriculum and after experiencing two APPE rotations.

Development and Application of a Stepwise Assessment Process for Rational Redesign of Sequential Skills-Based Courses.

To develop and apply a stepwise process to assess achievement of course learning objectives related to advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs) preparedness and inform redesign of sequential skills-based courses. Four steps comprised the assessment and redesign process: (1) identify skills critical for APPE preparedness; (2) utilize focus groups and course evaluations to determine student competence in skill performance; (3) apply course mapping to identify course deficits contributing to suboptimal skill performance; and (4) initiate course redesign to target exposed deficits. Focus group participants perceived students were least prepared for skills within the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education's pre-APPE core domains of Identification and Assessment of Drug-related Problems and General Communication Abilities.

Impact of a Paper vs Virtual Simulated Patient Case on Student-Perceived Confidence and Engagement.

Objective: To evaluate online case simulation vs a paper case on student confidence and engagement.

Design: Students enrolled in a pharmacotherapy laboratory course completed a patient case scenario as a component of an osteoarthritis laboratory module. Two laboratory sections used a paper case (n=53); three sections used an online virtual case simulation (n=81).

Evaluation of pharmacotherapy laboratory revisions implemented to reduce cost.

Objectives: To revise a pharmacotherapy-laboratory curriculum to decrease course expenditures while maintaining a quality educational experience.

Design: Course mapping identified laboratory activities that achieved the defined learning outcomes. Redundant activities were eliminated, and remaining activities not requiring active in-laboratory participation were converted into prelaboratory assignments and simulations.