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BACKGROUNDColleges and schools of pharmacy have undergone major curricular changes to better prepare first-professional degree doctor of pharmacy students for practice and to enhance problem-solving skills. The use of techniques that foster active learning and critical thinking are necessary to accomplish this task. Despite increased efforts to enhance active learning, many pharmacy educators have difficulty engaging and maintaining the interest of all students in large classrooms. 1 Engaging students throughout a lecture is believed to make them more active participants rather then passive listeners. 2 Lecturing alone often provides only factual information to students, without enabling them to apply the knowledge. Relying on hand-raising or volunteered responses to questions posed by instructors in class usually only secures responses from a small number of more outspoken students. Other techniques have been used to determine student understanding of concepts and areas of confusion during class (eg, short quizzes, asking students to write down questions they have, etc). However, it takes time to review the students' responses. Thus, it is difficult for instructors to fully assess the degree of student comprehension of the material as it is being presented.Reports from as early as the 1970s on the use of electronic response systems in educational programs showed that such systems could serve as useful tools in large classrooms. 3 Audience response systems (ARS) are electronic tools that provide instantaneous feedback to facilitators and audience members about participants' responses (anonymously) to multiple-choice questions. ARS technology has largely been used by the corporate sector at training meetings and conferences, or as interactive trivia gaming system in taverns. Studies of ARS in corporate training have reported enhanced trainee interest, attentiveness, and retention. 4 The term interactive student response (ISR) system was coined for referring to these systems in the classroom setting. The typical ISR system includes a computer and specific software, a projector and screen, a radio signal receiver unit or a directly wired receiver unit, and personal hand-held units Objective. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of an interactive student response (ISR) system on student learning, interest, and satisfaction. Methods. Students enrolled in 3 courses, Clinical Pharmacokinetics, Medical Literature Evaluation, and Pathophysiology and Therapeutics, were taught using either a traditional lecture format (study year 1) or an ISR system format (study year 2). Primary outcomes of interest were performance on examinations and student attitudes. Results. Students using the ISR system had better scores on the Clinical Pharmacokinetics examination questions (mean scores, 82.6% ± 9.6% vs 63.8% ± 8.3%, p <0.001), on the cumulative final examination for Medical Literature Evaluation (82.9% ±11.5% vs 78.0% ± 12.2%, p = 0.016), and on the evaluable "analysis type" examination questions in the Pathophysio...

Pharmacy and other health sciences educators have often faced curriculum and assessment issues. However, as expectations for accountability and assessment have continued to grow for higher education institutions, there is increasing concern about the development of assessment plans and the appropriate use of assessment data. A variety of approaches have been used for development of both curriculum and program assessment plans. Although there is no single correct method for accomplishing either task, there are important principles, concepts, characteristics, and approaches that should be considered, such as beginning with well-defined student learning outcomes, using educational approaches designed to facilitate student achievement of those outcomes, and designing assessment strategies that target the specific outcomes. Faculty at schools and colleges of pharmacy need to understand educational concepts and theories, the principles/characteristics of effective assessment programs, obstacles to assessment plan development and ways to minimize them, and methods to create an environment conducive to curriculum and assessment efforts. They should also consider their own unique circumstances when undertaking curriculum modifications and preparing/implementing a comprehensive assessment plan. Professional associations and accrediting agencies can also fill an important role by assisting schools and colleges in their efforts to improve student learning.

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Background: To describe and analyze the involvement of fentanyl and fentanyl analogs (FAs) in drug-related deaths in West Virginia (WV), United States. Methods: Retrospective analyses of all WV drug-related deaths from 2005-2017 were performed, including comparisons of demographic and toxicological characteristics among total deaths, deaths in which fentanyl/FAs were present, deaths in which they were absent, heroinrelated deaths, and prescription opioid-related deaths. Results: Most of the 8813 drug-related deaths were overdoses, with about 11% resulting from transportation/other injuries in which drugs were contributors. Prescription opioid presence (without fentanyl) decreased by 75% from 2005-14 to 2015-17 (3,545 deaths to 859 deaths, respectively), while fentanyl involvement in the deaths increased by 122% between these periods (487 to 1082 deaths). Ten FAs were identified (427 instances) after 2015. Alprazolam and ethanol were among the top five most frequently identified substances across years. Fentanyl, heroin and cocaine replaced oxycodone, diazepam and hydrocodone in the top five beginning in 2015. Few decedents had a prescription for fentanyl after 2015, with fewer prescriptions also present for other controlled substances identified.