Hospital pharmacists' perceived competence in providing care to oncology patients - (HoPP-CoP2).

Background: Previous research has shown community pharmacists do not have high perceived competence or confidence providing care to patients on oral anti-cancer medications. There is a paucity of evidence when it comes to hospital pharmacists providing care to oncology patients admitted to the hospital for a reason other than cancer.

Objective(s): To assess the perceived competence of hospital pharmacists not working in oncology in managing patients taking anticancer drugs.

Professional Fulfillment and Burnout in Fourth-Year Pharmacy Students and Risk Factors for the Future: A Mixed Methods Study.

Objective: Many factors shape the professional identity of pharmacy students; however, little is known about the influence of well-being. Two aspects of well-being explored in this study include professional fulfillment and burnout. We describe the current levels of each among fourth-year pharmacy students, identify possible predictors, and uncover themes.

What Types of Data are Pharmacy Education Scholars Using in their Abstracts for Poster Presentations?

Objective: The objective of this study was to describe the data being used to support poster presentations in pharmacy education scholarship.

Methods: Research and education posters presented at the 2020 American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Annual Meeting were unitized to isolate text to be coded, and two coders categorized the quantitative and qualitative data by type and source. Questionnaires, instruments, and exams were categorized as new (ie developed and used for this particular inquiry) vs.

Commentary: Making Space for Reading as a Faculty Member.

In academia, significant emphasis is given to the importance of writing. However, reading may be given less prominence in faculty work lives. The purpose of this commentary is to explore the educator's relationship with academic reading, habits that support this practice, and points of reflection for creating space for reading in our professional lives.

Pharmacist Prescribing at Inpatient Discharge in Alberta.

Background: Pharmacists in the province of Alberta may apply for additional prescribing authorization (APA), which allows them to independently prescribe medications. Currently, no literature exists about pharmacist prescribing for inpatients at the time of discharge.

Objectives: The primary objective was to report the proportion of patients for whom inpatient pharmacists with APA prescribed at discharge across Alberta, Canada.

Clinical decision-making by fourth-year pharmacy students: Towards an understanding of their uncertainty.

Introduction: Clinical decision-making is a critical process underpinning much of a pharmacist's daily activities. While it is known that pharmacists hesitate to make decisions, it remains unclear whether pharmacy students experience similar hesitancy. The objective of this study was to better understand the phenomenon of decision-making in pharmacy students.

Moving beyond professionalism: Pharmacy students understanding of professionalism and professional identity.

Introduction: Professional identity is who we are in the context of our chosen profession, a complex and dynamic process. The purpose of this study was to describe pharmacy students' understanding of the terms professionalism and professional identity and the elements of formal and informal curricular activities that may contribute to professional identity formation.

Methods: This anonymous cross-sectional survey was administered to pharmacy students in years one through five at all 10 Canadian pharmacy schools with the help of local Canadian Association of Pharmacy Students and Interns representatives.

Reflective Practice: Co-Creating Reflective Activities for Pharmacy Students.

Reflective practice is important in pharmacy education to support skill development for decision-making, critical thinking, problem-solving, and in continuing professional development and beyond. Despite the importance of reflective practice in higher education and professional practice, reflection assignments are not universally embraced by students. This project was initiated due to recent interest in the co-creation of pharmacy curriculum by students and faculty.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on pharmacy students' personal and professional learning.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic impacted both healthcare delivery and the education of healthcare students, with a shift to remote delivery of coursework and assessment alongside the expansion of the scope of practice of Alberta pharmacists. The objective of this research was to understand how the learning of pharmacy students at the University of Alberta was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was distributed to 397 pharmacy students in years one through three.

Evaluation of care delivery by a novel multidisciplinary bone health clinic for patients at risk of glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis.

Unlabelled: Glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis (GIOP) is a common condition associated with increased risk for fracture. Many patients receive suboptimal care. We created a novel GIOP clinic model which successfully fills a gap in osteoporosis care by providing multidisciplinary intervention in key components of GIOP preventive care to an underserved patient population.

Pharmacy and medical students' competence and confidence with prescribing: A cross-sectional study.

Introduction: Previous research has shown that prescribing competence is weakly correlated with prescribing confidence. This questions whether undergraduate programs adequately prepare students and junior practitioners for safe and rational prescribing. The goal of this project was to investigate whether there are differences in prescribing competence and confidence between fourth year pharmacy and medical students at the University of Alberta.

The role and impact of the pharmacist in long-term care settings: A systematic review.

Objective: Older adults in long-term care (LTC) are often frail and comorbid and have multiple medications. Although medication review by pharmacists has been integrated into LTC practice in many countries through policy and reimbursement models, the impact is variable in the literature. The purpose of our study was to review the literature regarding the impact of the pharmacist in LTC.

Competence and confidence with prescribing in pharmacy and medicine: a scoping review.

Objectives: Prescribing is a growing scope of practice for pharmacists. The objective of this scoping review is to explore themes within the literature related to prescribing competence and confidence in the disciplines of pharmacy and medicine.

Methods: Online databases MEDLINE, EMBASE and Global Health were used to identify articles from inception to October 2018.

Admissions processes in North American pharmacy schools: To what extent are characteristics of practice success measured?

Introduction: The goal of preparing competent pharmacy practitioners starts with the admissions process, whereby skills and abilities can be screened to identify those individuals with a strong potential for success. This study sought to describe the admissions processes of top pharmacy schools in North America and identify the extent to which characteristics associated with professional success are measured.

Methods: An observational survey design was used to collect information to help characterize the admissions processes of 60 pharmacy schools.

What makes pharmacists successful? An investigation of personal characteristics.

Objectives: The primary objective of this study was to identify characteristics of pharmacists that contribute to their success.

Design: A working definition of success in pharmacy practice was derived from a scoping literature review and is based on the premise that successful pharmacists practice to full scope within the context of their practice setting. Semistructured individual interviews were conducted with selected pharmacists.

Pay-for-performance remuneration for pharmacist prescribers' management of hypertension: A substudy of the RxACTION trial.

Background: To be sustainable, pharmacists providing direct patient care must receive appropriate payment for these services. This prespecified substudy of the RxACTION trial (a randomized trial of pharmacist prescribing vs usual care in patients with above-target blood pressure [BP]) aimed to determine if BP reduction achieved differed between patients whose pharmacist was paid by pay-for-performance (P4P) vs fee-for-service (FFS).

Methods: Within RxACTION, patients with elevated BP assigned to the pharmacist prescribing group were further randomized to P4P or FFS payment for the pharmacist.

Understanding pharmacist success in practice: A scoping review.

Objectives: The objective was to identify literature providing a description of characteristics contributing to pharmacists' individual level success in providing advanced patient care.

Design: An interpretive scoping review was conducted to synthesize knowledge and address the study objective.

Setting: Searches were undertaken in Ovid MEDLINE (1946-2015), EMBASE (1974-2015), and International Pharmaceutical Abstracts (1970-2015).

A randomized controlled study of practice facilitation to improve the provision of medication management services in Alberta community pharmacies.

Background: The provision of medication management (MM) services by community pharmacists has not been as widely implemented as expected. The Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services framework proposes that in addition to evidence of benefit and a practice context conducive to change, health professionals benefit from facilitation to support their efforts. However, the impact of facilitation on patient care services in community pharmacy has not been studied.

Pharmacists' Perceptions Regarding Optimization of Antibiotic Prescribing in the Community.

Background And Objective: The overuse of antibiotics in the community is a primary cause of antibiotic resistance. Community pharmacists are the most accessible health professionals and so they are in an ideal position to implement interventions to ensure the appropriate use of antibiotics. This study aimed to explore the role of community pharmacists in the optimization of antibiotic prescribing and utilization.

Randomized Trial of the Effect of Pharmacist Prescribing on Improving Blood Pressure in the Community: The Alberta Clinical Trial in Optimizing Hypertension (RxACTION).

Background: Hypertension control rates remain suboptimal. Pharmacists' scope of practice is evolving, and their position in the community may be ideal for improving hypertension care. We aimed to study the impact of pharmacist prescribing on blood pressure (BP) control in community-dwelling patients.