Report of the 2018-2019 Student Affairs Standing Committee.

The 2018-2019 Student Affairs Standing Committee addressed charges related to examining the institutional leadership models and professional development needs of faculty and staff to optimize achievement of Strategic Priority #1 on the applicant pipeline. The report provides five recommendations to AACP and twelve suggestions for colleges and schools of pharmacy. The committee focused on the need to develop tailored leadership training and mentoring programs for admissions personnel on relevant topics, including change management, holistic thinking, leadership, problem solving, technical knowledge, professional development, paths for promotion, conflict resolution, networking, persuasive communication, and strategic planning.

Intersession Remediation to Minimize Attrition in a Three-Year Pharmacy Program.

To describe an intersession remediation process in an accelerated three-year Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) program and to determine if the remediation process reduced attrition rates, including program withdrawals, progression to advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs), and on-time graduation rates. Attrition was defined as dismissal, withdrawal, leave of absence, and/or change in graduation date. Progression data from students who matriculated between 2008 to 2016, with data available through spring 2017, were analyzed for number of course failures and successful intersession remediation.

Evaluation of multiple active learning strategies in a pharmacology course.

Background And Purpose: The objectives of this study were to implement multiple active learning strategies in pharmacology and evaluate the most effective method to promote understanding.

Educational Activity And Setting: A structured, student-centered learning approach was launched. The implemented active learning strategies were Kahoot web-based interactive games, crossword puzzles, an instructional video, a music video, and fill-in-the-blank tables.

ARCS motivation model application in a pharmacy elective.

Background: Motivation is changeable but unpredictable. However, it is felt that many times, the instructor or instructional designer has no control over the ability to change it. John Keller developed the Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction (ARCS) model of motivation to try and solve these problems.

Impact of High-Dose Intravenous Vitamin C for Treatment of Sepsis on Point-of-Care Blood Glucose Readings.

Background: Intravenous vitamin C therapy has been associated with reduced mortality in patients with sepsis. Of potential concern with this therapy are falsely elevated point-of-care (POC) blood glucose values vs laboratory analyzed (LA) readings. The purpose of this study was to compare POC and LA blood glucose measurements in patients receiving intravenous vitamin C therapy.

Best Practices Related to Examination Item Construction and Post-hoc Review.

To provide a practical guide to examination item writing, item statistics, and score adjustment for use by pharmacy and other health professions educators. Each examination item type possesses advantages and disadvantages. Whereas selected response items allow for efficient assessment of student recall and understanding of content, constructed response items appear better suited for assessment of higher levels of Bloom's taxonomy.

An Assessment of Pharmacy Students' Psychological Attachment to Smartphones at Two Colleges of Pharmacy.

To determine the prevalence of nomophobia, the discomfort or anxiety experienced from being without a cellphone, among student pharmacists. A validated nomophobia questionnaire (NMP-Q) was administered to two groups of student pharmacists at two different Doctor of Pharmacy programs (N=192). Demographic and other information was collected including identified gender, year of birth, type of smartphone, and use of messaging services.

Current Status of Immunology Education in US Schools and Colleges of Pharmacy.

To determine the extent of immunology education in US Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) programs. Curricular information on immunology education was collected from the web pages of US PharmD programs (N=142). The data were sorted, comparisons were made, and trends were identified.

Impact of a Journal Club Elective Course on Student Learning Measures.

To assess the impact of a journal club elective course on measures of student's longitudinal performance throughout an accelerated three-year Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) curriculum. Students were separated into two groups (those who did and did not complete a journal club elective). The following primary and secondary student outcomes were assessed using hierarchical linear regression analysis: score on the Pharmacy Curriculum Outcomes Assessment (PCOA), overall course grade in the Pharmacotherapeutics IV course, overall course grade in the Research Design and Literature Evaluation II course, and average grade on acute/ambulatory care advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs).

High Thymic Output of Effector CD4 Cells May Lead to a Treg : T Effector Imbalance in the Periphery in NOD Mice.

Regulatory T cells (Tregs) play a critical role in controlling autoreactive T cells, and quantitative and/or qualitative deficiencies in Tregs are associated with autoimmune diseases, including type 1 diabetes (T1D), in both humans and mice. Both the incidence of T1D and percentages of peripheral Tregs in NOD mice vary considerably between animal facilities. In our animal facility, the incidence of T1D in NOD mice is high at 90-100% and the percentages of peripheral CD4Foxp3 cells in ~9-10-week-old female NOD mice are decreased compared to control (B6) mice shortly before high glucose is first detected (~12 weeks).

Predicting NAPLEX scores using student performance in the clinical skills laboratory setting.

Introduction: Many predictors of success on the North American Pharmacist Licensure Exam (NAPLEX) have been studied, but little information is available regarding the effect of assessments in the clinical skills setting on student success. One way to determine if these assessments affect NAPLEX success is to review student performance in clinical skills laboratory courses (termed patient care lab ["PCL"] at our institution), which incorporate such assessments.

Methods: Students (n = 88) enrolled in a four quarter PCL sequence completed several individual assessments (both knowledge and skills-based), including drug information (DI) quizzes/final exams, patient case presentations and associated critical thinking questions, and formal DI responses.

How Faculty Recognized for Teaching Excellence Interpret and Respond to Student Ratings of Teaching.

To determine how experienced pharmacy educators who have been recognized for teaching excellence interpret and respond to end-of-course student ratings of their teaching. An expert sampling technique was used to identify pharmacy faculty members who had been recognized by the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) for teaching excellence as potential participants in the study. Sixteen of these faculty members were independently identified by two or more of the researchers as trusted candidates for the study, and 10 of these were randomly selected and invited to be interviewed via a web-conferencing platform.

Factors associated with cultures of assessment at US schools and colleges of pharmacy.

Introduction: Pharmacy education has standards for assessment that must be met, prompting many programs to develop cultures of assessment. This study assesses the extent to which assessment personnel perceive that a culture of assessment has been established within their schools/colleges of pharmacy (S/COPs) and determines whether a relationship exists between assessment structure and the perceived strength of the culture of assessment.

Methods: An electronic survey was administered to assessment personnel at 134 S/COPs.

Surveying the current landscape of assessment structures and resources in US schools and colleges of pharmacy.

Introduction: Expectations for assessment in higher education have increased in recent decades, prompting institutions to invest additional resources in this area. This study aimed to determine the resources, structure, and perception of assessment resources in United States schools and colleges of pharmacy (S/COPs).

Methods: Assessment personnel in S/COPs were surveyed electronically.

Best Practices on Examination Construction, Administration, and Feedback.

Examinations are typically used in higher education to objectively assess student learning, and they are also used as a frequent assessment tool in the Doctor of Pharmacy curriculum. This paper describes best practices and provides examples for faculty to build reliable and valid examinations, ensure examination security and deter academic misconduct, and enhance student learning and achievement of course objectives. Colleges and schools of pharmacy can incorporate these concepts into comprehensive examination policies and focus faculty development efforts on improving the examination purpose, design, and experience for both faculty and students.

A Call to Action to Transform Pharmacy Education and Practice in the Arab World.

Globally, pharmacy education is evolving to reflect a more patient-centered, interprofessional approach to clinical practice. In the 22 countries of the Arab world, advancements in regulatory support for pharmacy practice and changes to the health care system have been slower than in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Significant cultural, logistical, and legal barriers exist in many countries, and a consensus approach to accreditation, educational outcomes, and curricula design is lacking.

Gabapentin in Elastic Liposomes: Preparation, Characterization, Drug Release, and Penetration Through Porcine Skin.

In the outpatient pharmacy compounding, gabapentin, an anti-epileptic agent, has been commonly prescribed to be prepared alone or in combination with other agents in Pluronic lecithin organogel for transdermal pain management and palliative care. The objective of this study was to formulate and characterize gabapentin encapsulated elastic liposomes and then compare the gabapentin-based liposomes with compounded gabapentin-based Pluronic lecithin organogel regarding their efficiency in transdermal delivery of gabapentin. We demonstrated that our small 100-nm unilamellar vesicles of gabapentin encapsulated approximately 6.

Evaluation of perceptions and knowledge of mental illness in the United States through crowdsourcing.

Introduction: Crowdsourcing is a method of data collection with possible benefits in assessing perceptions of mental illness in a large US population.

Methods: The objective was to describe perceptions and trends of stigma surrounding mental illness in the United States using crowdsourcing. An online survey was conducted evaluating adults in the United States recruited via the online resource Amazon Mechanical Turk.

The mechanistic role of oxidative stress in cigarette smoke-induced cardiac stem cell dysfunction and prevention by ascorbic acid.

Cigarette smoking causes a vast array of diseases including cardiovascular diseases. Our laboratory focuses on investigating cigarette smoke (CS)-induced cardiovascular malfunction and the responsible mechanisms utilizing the model, c-kit-positive cardiac stem cells (CSCs). The main objective of our study is to investigate whether CS extracts (CSEs) cause impairment of CSC functions via oxidative damage.

Teaching and assessing clinical ethics through group reading experience and student-led discussion.

Background And Purpose: Ethical decision-making is one of the foundational elements of responsible patient care, yet traditional didactic coursework often misses the nuances of specific situational aspects of ethics as well as the impact of individual patient experiences on their perspective related to health care. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of a clinical research ethics elective course involving a group reading experience and facilitated discussion on student decision-making and perspective on questions related to ethics.

Educational Activity And Setting: The elective was offered to second-year pharmacy students and was designed to teach ethical concepts within the framework of a group reading experience employing active learning through facilitated student-led group discussion.

The Use of Portfolios in US Pharmacy Schools.

To conduct a review of the pharmacy literature on the use of portfolios in US pharmacy schools. This study provides examples of how pharmacy schools are using portfolios in various parts and across their curricula, however, assessment/outcome data is lacking. These examples can be used as a starting point for schools as they begin to design their own use of portfolios.