Toolkit for US colleges/schools of pharmacy to prepare learners for careers in academia

An Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience in a University's Office of Experiential Education

The Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) requires pharmacy students to complete 1440 hours of advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs). The majority of all APPE hours should be in direct patient care; however, non-patient care electives can also help to prepare students to become practice ready as well as allow them to explore areas of interest. Many pharmacy schools offer elective academic rotations, but an office of experiential education (OEE) academic rotation offers a unique academic elective. This Commentary describes an OEE APPE and includes the views of a preceptor and a pharmacy student regarding the experience. A detailed list of activities for an OEE APPE that can be easily duplicated by other schools is provided. The OEE APPE can be completed online or in-person, creating greater flexibility for administration.

Design and Evaluation of Scholarship and Research Orientation Sessions in Academic Pharmacy Practice Experiences

OBJECTIVE

Evaluate the efficacy of educating academic Advance Pharmacy Practice Experiential (APPE) students on scholarship and research (S&R). We hypothesized that academic APPE students gain more knowledge in scholarship and research in comparison to non-academic APPE students.

METHODS

As a component of academic APPE rotation, all academic APPE students assigned by the office of experiential education per year (the intervention group) (n = 11) attended S&R sessions during the first week of their academic APPE rotation. Student volunteers from the same graduating class were recruited as the control group (n = 12). However, 1 student from the intervention group and 2 students from the control group were excluded from the analysis, leaving 10 students from each group. These sessions were taken in small groups of 1 to 3 once in their assigned rotation. S&R sessions included many topics that were based on a S&R manual. Upon completion of the sessions, a hard copy of a 10-question knowledge-based quiz was given to both groups at the same time. APPE students' knowledge about S&R were assessed via grading the quiz. The anonymity of the quiz was maintained by requesting students only to mention whether they are from intervention group or controlled group.

RESULTS

While control group averaged 49% ± 4.58 on the quiz, the intervention group averaged 71.5% ± 5.77. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software. Based on independent sample t-test, students who took the S&R session show significant increase in their quiz score.

CONCLUSION

Compared to the control group, S&R sessions helped academic APPE students to gain knowledge on S&R. The students also perceived that S&R sessions increased their interest in S&R.

PharmD graduates' perceptions of the impact of a teaching specialization

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this study was to evaluate graduates' perceptions of the impact of a teaching (education) specialization and identify aspects of the specialization that could be enhanced.

METHODS

A 20-item online survey was emailed to graduates of the education specialization at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Pharmacy. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. Regression analysis was used to examine (1) association between overall self-rated competence on abilities and skills as a teacher and the number of types of teaching experiences and (2) association between overall self-rated competence on abilities and skills as a teacher and history of holding a faculty position. Chi square was used to determine differences between the two cohorts in confidence areas.

RESULTS

Fifty-six out of 69 alumni (81.2%) responded to the survey. Graduates reported high levels of confidence in most teaching abilities. There was a high level of agreement that the specialization enhanced motivation to teach. Regression analysis indicated statistically significant associations between self-rated competence on abilities and skills across a variety of teaching experiences (e.g., classroom lecturing, precepting, continuing education, staff training, lab instruction, facilitating small groups) and history of faculty employment. Enhanced skills in experiential education and teaching outside of academia were identified as further areas for development.

CONCLUSION

The education specialization offered at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Pharmacy may be an alternative entry level PharmD pathway for stimulating interest in academia. The majority of graduates agreed that they have applied the knowledge and skills to their careers.