Services and staffing practices in academic health sciences libraries serving college of osteopathic medicine programs: a mixed methods study.

Objective: This study describes and assesses services, staffing practices, and trends in academic health sciences libraries that serve accredited college of osteopathic medicine (COM) programs in the United States.

Methods: The study was conducted in three phases. In phase one, the investigators collected data on library services and staffing through the publicly facing websites of the COM libraries.

Incorporating ACPE Standards in a Holistic Approach to School Operations and Accreditation.

Auburn University Harrison School of Pharmacy (AUHSOP) implemented a comprehensive, holistic process of continuous quality improvement (CQI) for its program using the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education's (ACPE) Accreditation Standards as the foundation. The process served as a way to increase the impact of the accreditation standards through continuous monitoring and programmatic improvements. Internally generated standards were also included in the CQI process.

An Industrial Engineering Approach to Cost Containment of Pharmacy Education.

A 2-semester project explored employing teams of fourth-year industrial engineering students to optimize some of our academic management processes. Results included significant cost savings and increases in efficiency, effectiveness, and student and faculty satisfaction. While we did not adopt all of the students' recommendations, we did learn some important lessons.

Student use of health literacy tools to improve patient understanding and medication adherence.

Objective: Evaluate curricular changes related to health literacy and determine impact on independent-living senior residents as part of an introductory pharmacy practice experience for third-year student pharmacists.

Design: Students were randomly assigned a resident whom they visited multiple times to conduct assessments and provide various services using three methods: Ask Me 3™ Four Habits Model, and Teach-back.

Setting: The study was conducted at independent-living apartments within a 24-mile radius from the St.

Assessment of students' critical-thinking and problem-solving abilities across a 6-year doctor of pharmacy program.

Objective: To determine the feasibility of using a validated set of assessment rubrics to assess students' critical-thinking and problem-solving abilities across a doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) curriculum.

Methods: Trained faculty assessors used validated rubrics to assess student work samples for critical-thinking and problem-solving abilities. Assessment scores were collected and analyzed to determine student achievement of these 2 ability outcomes across the curriculum.

Health literacy: use of the Four Habits Model to improve student pharmacists' communication.

Objective: To assess whether student pharmacists' communication skills improved using the Four Habits Model (FHM) at the St. Louis College of Pharmacy.

Methods: During the Fall of 2009 and 2010, student pharmacists in the third professional year learned and practiced the FHM.

A review of remediation programs in pharmacy and other health professions.

The Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) Accreditation Standards and Guidelines 2007 states that colleges and schools of pharmacy must have a remediation policy. Few comparative studies on remediation have been published by colleges and schools of pharmacy, making it challenging to implement effective and validated approaches. Effective remediation policies should include early detection of problems in academic performance, strategies to help students develop better approaches for academic success, and facilitation of self-directed learning.