Students' Perception of Self-Efficacy Following Medicinal Chemistry Skills Laboratory Exercises.

Objective. To analyze student perceptions of self-efficacy in meeting medicinal chemistry course related educational outcomes and skills following a medicinal chemistry skills laboratory. Methods.

The Sustained, Positive Impact of a Native American Cultures and Health Course on Students' Education and Practice-Related Choices.

Objective: To encourage pharmacy students to elect education and practice opportunities in Native American communities, including careers with the Indian Health Service (IHS).

Methods: Students in 2 elective courses were educated on various aspects of contemporary Native American life in urban and reservation environments, including cultural traditions, social and health-related challenges, health access disparities, and cultural approaches to health and wellness. The teachers were Native American leaders and healers primarily from Plains tribes, as well as non-Native American practitioners affiliated with IHS hospitals and tribal health facilities.

Center for the Advancement of Pharmacy Education 2013 educational outcomes.

An initiative of the Center for the Advancement of Pharmacy Education (formerly the Center for the Advancement of Pharmaceutical Education) (CAPE), the CAPE Educational Outcomes are intended to be the target toward which the evolving pharmacy curriculum should be aimed. Their development was guided by an advisory panel composed of educators and practitioners nominated for participation by practitioner organizations. CAPE 2013 represents the fourth iteration of the Educational Outcomes, preceded by CAPE 1992, CAPE 1998 and CAPE 2004 respectively.

A collaborative and reflective academic advanced pharmacy practice experience.

Objectives: To implement a co-precepted advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) focused on traditional pharmacy faculty and administrative responsibilities and reflection opportunities.

Design: A multi-faceted, reflection-infused academic APPE was designed that exposed students to activities related to teaching, curriculum revision, scholarly writing, committee service, faculty role-modeling, mentorship and development, and school-level administrative decision-making.

Assessment: Two students completed the APPE in the first 2 semesters it was offered (1 in spring 2010 and 1 in fall 2010).

A receptor-grounded approach to teaching nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug chemistry and structure-activity relationships.

Objective: To describe a receptor-based approach to promote learning about nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) chemistry, structure-activity relationships, and therapeutic decision-making.

Design: Three lessons on cyclooxygenase (COX) and NSAID chemistry, and NSAID therapeutic utility, were developed using text-based resources and primary medicinal chemistry and pharmacy practice literature. Learning tools were developed to assist students in content mastery.

Curriculum recommendations of the AACP-PSSC task force on caring for the underserved.

A task force was convened by the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) and the Pharmaceutical Services Support Center (PSSC) and charged with the development of a curriculum framework to guide pharmacy programs in educating students on caring for the underserved. Utilizing a literature-based model, the task force constructed a framework that delineated evidence-based practice, clinical prevention and health promotion, health systems and policy, and community aspects of practice. Specific learning outcomes tailored to underserved populations were crafted and linked to resources readily available to the academy.

A service-learning elective in Native American culture, health and professional practice.

Objectives: To evaluate the success of an elective course in Native American culture, health, and service-learning in fostering interest in experiences and careers with the USPHS Indian Health Service (IHS), and in shaping reflective practitioners.

Design: Students conducted readings, kept reflective journals, and engaged in discussions with Native American and non-Native American speakers. Students orally presented a Native American health issue and spent their fall break in Chinle, Ariz, providing social and healthcare services to the Diné under the supervision of IHS pharmacists.

Improving pharmacy students' understanding and long-term retention of acid-base chemistry.

Despite repeated exposure to the principles underlying the behavior of organic acids and bases in aqueous solution, some pharmacy students remain confused about the topic of acid-base chemistry. Since a majority of organic drug molecules have acid-base character, the ability to predict their reactivity and the extent to which they will ionize in a given medium is paramount to students' understanding of essentially all aspects of drug action in vivo and in vitro. This manuscript presents a medicinal chemistry lesson in the fundamentals of acid-base chemistry that many pharmacy students have found enlightening and clarifying.

The chemically elegant proton pump inhibitors.

Medicinal chemistry instruction at Creighton University is designed to provide an in-depth scientifically grounded and clinically relevant learning experience for pharmacy students. Each topic covered in the 2-semester required course sequence is selected based on the general utility of the compounds in question and/or the therapeutic importance of the drugs in treating life-threatening diseases. All lessons provided to campus- and Web-based students by the author are in the form of a descriptive and conversational narrative and course requirements are in place to assure that students read the lesson prior to the class period in which it is discussed.

Synthesis and in vitro platelet aggregation and TP receptor binding studies on bicyclic 5,8-ethanooctahydroisoquinolines and 5,8-ethanotetrahydroisoquinolines.

Eighteen novel bicyclic 1-substituted benzyl octahydro- and tetrahydroisoquinolines were synthesized and evaluated for human thromboxane A(2)/prostaglandin H(2) (TP) receptor affinity and antagonism of TP receptor-mediated platelet aggregation. In both cases, potency depended more on the presence of methoxy groups on the 1-benzyl moiety than on nitrogen substitution or extent of oxidation of the isoquinoline ring system. The most potent of the bicyclic compounds retained the 5,8-ethanooctahydroisoquinoline ring structure of the parent molecule (1) and required the 3,4,5-trimethoxybenzyl substitution pattern found in the well-characterized tetrahydroisoquinoline antiplatelet agent trimetoquinol.