Evaluation of Scholarship Motivators and Barriers for Non-Tenure-Track Faculty in a Department of Pharmacy Practice

The Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) Standards 2016 set explicit expectations for faculty scholarship. However, many non-tenure-track faculty have struggled with the scholarship portion of the academic tripart mission of clinical practice, teaching, and scholarship. Therefore, we sought to identify themes regarding the barriers, motivators, and potential solutions associated with non-tenure-track faculty scholarship. Four focus group interviews were held via videoconference during July 2021, which consisted of non-tenure-track faculty within the TTUHSC Jerry H. Hodge School of Pharmacy. Each focus group answered a standard script of questions that were evaluated for face validity over a 30-60 min session. Twenty-two non-tenure-track faculty members (47% response) participated in one of the four focus group interviews. The four common barriers were insufficient time, lack of acknowledgment, obscurity of scholarship expectations, and a lack of resources and support. Scholarship's lasting impact on academia, students, and clinical practice was the one common motivator identified by the groups. The barriers identified were not unique to our faculty, despite the unique four-city structure of our program. Actions have continued to be taken to help address the barriers and potential solutions identified by the focus groups. In summary, our results echo that non-tenure-track faculty need more time and training to help them feel like they can meet institutional scholarship requirements.

How Well Are Pharmacists Represented in National Institutes of Health R01 Funding to United States Schools of Pharmacy?

Pharmacists are essential healthcare providers but historically are not well represented as principal investigators (PIs) of R01 grants by the United States (US) National Institutes of Health (NIH). Pharmacy organizations have taken steps to provide pharmacists with research training to improve their chances of achieving PI status. We conducted a retrospective cohort study using data from the NIH RePORTER website about R01 grants awarded to PIs affiliated with US Schools of Pharmacy (SOPs) for the fiscal years 2005−2019. Information regarding professional degrees was supplemented using data from the PIs’ institutional website profiles and other internet-based sources. Only doctorate degrees obtained within the US were included for clinically related degrees. Data regarding more than one year of funding for the same project, equipment supplements, and diversity supplements were excluded to focus on unique projects in year one of funding. PhDs were the primary unique PIs of R01 grants at US SOPs (>90%). Pharmacist representation as unique PIs increased over the 15 years but was still only 10.1% for the years 2015−2019. There was a higher percentage of female pharmacists as unique PIs than female non-pharmacists. Pharmacists are currently underrepresented as unique PIs for NIH R01 grants. This conclusion is limited by not knowing how many pharmacist R01 applications were submitted.

International Society of Oncology Pharmacy Practitioners (ISOPP) position statement: Role of the oncology pharmacy team in cancer care

The Oncology Pharmacy Team (OPT), consisting of specialty-trained pharmacists and/or pharmacy technicians, is an integral component of the multidisciplinary healthcare team (MHT) involved with all aspects of cancer patient care. The OPT fosters quality patient care, safety, and local regulatory compliance. The International Society of Oncology Pharmacy Practitioners (ISOPP) developed this position statement to provide guidance on five key areas: 1) oncology pharmacy practice as a pharmacy specialty; 2) contributions to patient care; 3) oncology pharmacy practice management; 4) education and training; and 5) contributions to oncology research and quality initiatives to involve the OPT. This position statement advocates that: 1) the OPT be fully incorporated into the MHT to optimize patient care; 2) educational and healthcare institutions develop programs to continually educate OPT members; and 3) regulatory authorities develop certification programs to recognize the unique contributions of the OPT in cancer patient care.

Implementation of a formal pharmacy residency research certificate program

PURPOSE

We describe the structure, implementation, and initial evaluation of a formal residency research certificate program (RRCP) designed to further advance residents' knowledge and skills in research in an effort to better prepare residents for research involvement during their careers.

SUMMARY

Pharmacy residency programs vary in the degree of emphasis on research education and training and the structure of resident research activities. Limited data describing formal research education and training for pharmacy residents are available. To better educate and prepare residents in the research process, State University of New York Upstate University Hospital developed and implemented a formal RRCP designed to educate and train residents in essential areas of the research process. Research seminars are delivered by preceptors with experience and training in research throughout the academic year to align with residency project tasks. Residents are also required to complete at least 1 residency project and submit a manuscript suitable for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. Upon successful completion of the program and project requirements, residents earn a certificate of completion. Initial data collected through formal resident assessments before and after RRCP completion demonstrated significant improvement in research knowledge (from an average score of 61.3% out of 100% to an average score of 84.7%, P = 0.002).

CONCLUSION

Post-RRCP assessment showed improvements in residents' confidence in several areas of research, including but not limited to research project design, ethical and regulatory principles of research, data collection, selection of appropriate statistical tests, manuscript writing, and the publication process. Residents strongly agreed that the RRCP improved their overall knowledge and perceptions of research.

Effect of a multimodal multidisciplinary training program on pharmacy residents' knowledge and confidence toward research and biostatistics

INTRODUCTION

The optimal method to increase pharmacy resident knowledge and confidence toward research remains unknown.

OBJECTIVE

This study evaluated the impact of a structured curriculum on pharmacy residents' knowledge, confidence and attitude toward biostatistics and research.

METHODS

This prospective, multicenter study included pharmacy residents from 2016 to 2017. Residents underwent research training with (1) 60-hours of online modules delivered by multidisciplinary senior faculty (MD, PhD), (2) a 2-day interactive workshop delivered by experienced pharmacy researchers and (3) a mentored longitudinal research experience. Fifteen residents were invited to complete a questionnaire at baseline and again before graduation to measure knowledge, confidence and attitudes about research. Residents were followed for one additional year to measure peer-reviewed publications.

RESULTS

Eleven (73%) residents provided complete responses to ≥1survey domain. At baseline, 27% of respondents reported being at least somewhat confident about their biostatistics and research skills (a favorable response for ≥5 of the 9 confidence items). At follow-up, 91% self-reported confidence. Self-reported familiarity with statistical terminology (a score of 4 or 5) increased from 19% at baseline to 82% at follow-up. The mean correct score on the knowledge items at baseline was 15 ± 2.5 (total possible 28) and increased to 20 ± 2.7 after training. By one year after graduation, 53% of residents published at least 1 peer-reviewed manuscript and 20 peer-reviewed publications as first or co-author with a median journal impact factor of 3.16 (IQR: 2.61-4.59).

CONCLUSION

This study provides a framework for sustainable, multidisciplinary, multimodal research education that increased confidence and knowledge among pharmacy residents and resulted in tangible contributions to the scientific literature. Future studies should explore long-term knowledge gained and publications.

Statistics Myth Busters: Dispelling Common Misperceptions Held by Readers of the Biomedical Literature

Proficiency in research design and statistical analysis is crucial to the success of a clinical pharmacist. However, new pharmacy graduates and residents may not have received adequate training and education in these areas. During the authors' tenure as clinical pharmacists, several statistical "myths" were consistently maintained by residents and new clinical practitioners. The purpose of this narrative review is to discuss and dispel several of these statistical fallacies. The myths discussed involve 3 common areas of consideration when evaluating any clinical study: assessing the risk of bias from confounding (propensity score analysis and multivariable modeling), interpretation of the main study findings ( P values and hypothesis testing), and secondary evaluations (subgroup analyses). Literature examples are used to illustrate each of the topics. The authors hope that the discussion will augment each pharmacist's knowledge of medical literature interpretation leading to improvements in patient care, education of future residents, and personal research endeavors.

Clinical pharmacists: The major support to Indian healthcare system in near future

Pharmacy practice is still in the initial stages of development in India, but launching of Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) study program has brought serious discussions about clinical pharmacy in the country. As the profession is in budding stage in the country, the patients, physicians, nurses, other healthcare providers, recruiters in pharmaceutical industries, prospective students, and their parents have numerous questions about this profession and study course. The objective of this article is to create awareness about clinical pharmacy services (CPS) and to introduce the role of clinical pharmacists (CPs). After reading this article, one will know about the usefulness of CPs in the Indian healthcare system against the current flaws in the system. The article describes the role of CPs in the hospitals, in research, in pharmaceutical/contract research companies, in community service and it also tells about the related myths and facts. Prospective job opportunities for CPs, present challenges and the possible solutions are elaborated as well. In conclusion, CPs are going to be the major support to the Indian healthcare system in near future; the reasons being (1) CPS are beneficial in many ways to improve healthcare; CPS have already proved their importance in western countries (2) India was never officially and efficiently exposed to CPS; so launching of CPS shall revolutionize the country's healthcare scenario.

Provision of clinical pharmacist services for individuals with chronic hepatitis C viral infection: Joint Opinion of the GI/Liver/Nutrition and Infectious Diseases Practice and Research Networks of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy

The objective of this opinion paper was to identify and describe potential clinical pharmacists' services for the prevention and management of patients infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV). The goals of this paper are to guide the establishment and development of pharmacy services for patients infected with HCV and to highlight HCV research and educational opportunities. Recommendations were based on the following: a review of published data on clinical pharmacist involvement in the treatment and management of HCV-infected patients; a consensus of clinical pharmacists who provide direct patient care to HCV-infected patients and practice in different pharmacy models, including community-based and academic settings; and a review of published guidelines and literature focusing on the treatment and management of HCV infections. The recommendations provided in this opinion paper define the areas of clinical pharmacist involvement and clinical pharmacy practice in the treatment and management of patients with HCV. Clinical pharmacists can promote preventive measures and education about reducing HCV transmission, improve medication adherence, assist in monitoring clinical and adverse effects, recommend treatment strategies to minimize adverse effects and drug interactions, and facilitate medication acquisition and logistics that positively improve patient outcomes and reduce the health care system costs.

Preparing clinical pharmacy scientists for careers in clinical/translational research: can we meet the challenge?: ACCP Research Affairs Committee Commentary

Developing clinical pharmacists' research skills and their ability to compete for extramural funding is an important component of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy's (ACCP) vision for pharmacists to play a prominent role in generating the new knowledge used to guide patient pharmacotherapy. Given the recent emphasis on clinical/translational research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the key role of drug therapy in the management of many diseases, there is an unprecedented opportunity for the profession to contribute to this enterprise. A crucial question facing the profession is whether we can generate enough appropriately trained scientists to take advantage of these opportunities to generate the new knowledge to advance drug therapy. Since the 2009 publication of the ACCP Research Affairs Committee editorial recommending the Ph.D. degree (as opposed to fellowship training) as the optimal method for preparing pharmacists as clinical/translational scientists, significant changes have occurred in the economic, professional, political, and research environments. As a result, the 2012 ACCP Research Affairs Committee was charged with reexamining the college's position on training clinical pharmacy scientists in the context of these substantial environmental changes. In this commentary, the potential impact of these changes on opportunities for pharmacists in clinical/translational research are discussed as are strategies for ACCP, colleges of pharmacy, and the profession to increase the number and impact of clinical pharmacy scientists. Failure of our profession to take advantage of these opportunities risks our ability to contribute substantively to the biomedical research enterprise and ultimately improve the pharmacotherapy of our patients.