Objective. To determine fourth-year pharmacy students' learning experiences with team-based learning (TBL) at a South African university. Methods. A survey composed of biographical data and quantitative questions focusing on student learning experiences was sent to students. There were 183 (91.5%) students who completed the survey. Results. Students had a positive experience with TBL and found it valuable and more worthwhile than traditional lecture methods, regardless of their initial negative perception of TBL. Students enjoyed working in multi-cultural, mixed gender teams. Conclusion. TBL is an effective teaching strategy to simulate the reality of health professions where practitioners are required to work in a team. TBL should be offered in more courses in health professions curriculum in South Africa to strengthen and promote efficient health care delivery.
The FIP (International Pharmaceutical Federation) Global Competency Framework for Educators and Trainers in Pharmacy (FIP-GCFE) is an ongoing project of the Academic Pharmacy Section of FIP in cooperation and collaboration with Sections, Special Interest Groups and Working Groups across the Federation. It was developed by a group of experts in pharmaceutical education to enable and promote the continuing professional development of pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists who plan to advance their competence as educators and trainers in pharmacy and the pharmaceutical sciences, whether in a formal or informal context, and at all levels of education and professional development. The FIP-GCFE will be an essential resource for multiple stakeholders including individual educators, faculties of pharmacy, and accreditation agencies. This article presents the introductory text of the GCFE first version, connecting previously launched concepts and tools and explaining the integration with all other FIP workforce support frameworks, to provide a holistic approach to global workforce development.
Pharmacist-initiated management of antiretroviral therapy (PIMART)To the Editor: We the undersigned, a collective of pharmacy researchers, practitioners and academics, call on the Minister to consider the following points in response to the input made by the South African Medical Association (SAMA) in relation to pharmacistinitiated management of antiretroviral therapy (PIMART), dated 9 September 2021. We wish to highlight the expertise of pharmacists in all matters relating to the design, production and use of quality, safe and affordable medicines. Furthermore, we need to stress the increasing importance of and role played by pharmacists in primary care teams, which has been further reinforced during the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent vaccination efforts.Sub-Saharan Africa remains the region worst affected by the HIV epidemic, accounting for more than two-thirds of the global HIV burden. South Africa (SA) bears the largest HIV burden in the region, with nearly eight million individuals living with HIV; over four and a half million of these were receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) in 2019. There have been substantial gains in recent years, with expansion of ART eligibility and adoption of the World Health Organization (WHO)-recommended universal test and treat (UTT) policy. However, many health systems across sub-Saharan Africa remain weak, under-resourced and overburdened. [1] Many countries in the region have yet to meet the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) 90-90-90 HIV targets and are therefore at risk of missing the 95-95-95 targets by 2030. In SA, an additional three million individuals need to initiate ART to reach the target of 95% of those diagnosed receiving ART by 2030. In particular, certain key populations that have not been reached by existing health services need to be prioritised.In a perfect world, every patient with HIV would be treated by an adult or paediatric infectious disease specialist, and prescribed an individualised regimen based on pretreatment genotyping. However, to impose that standard of care in resource-constrained settings would result in compromised access to care for many patients, and a net loss in health benefits. As a result, the WHO has advocated for a public health approach to HIV care, based on standardised regimens and with maximal reliance on task-shifting. [2] A demedicalised approach has been proposed for HIV prevention, including the provision of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). [3] SA adopted the UTT strategy in 2016 and the ART same-day initiation (SDI) policy in 2017. While the UTT policy removes clinical barriers to ART initiation, the SDI policy aims to reduce the time from HIV diagnosis to ART start to one visit. The SDI policy makes ART initiation logistically easier for patients and can further reduce patient losses in the pre-ART phase of care. However, in SA and other low-to middle-income countries, implementation of the UTT and SDI policies was not accompanied by expanded human resources or infrastructural capacity. SA has insuffici...
In order to deliver graduates with the necessary qualities, skills and understanding to be employable, universities should do more than only teach disciplinary content. Team-Based Learning (TBL) is a small-group-based, active learning teaching strategy which supports the development of essential skills while mastering course content. In this study, a questionnaire was used to collect biographical data. It consisted of 20 quantitative questions focusing on essential generic skills developed during the implementation of TBL in a fourth-year pharmacy course. Participation was voluntary and ethical approval was received from the faculty's ethics committee. The results pointed out that pharmacy students developed essential generic skills such as teamwork, problem-solving, interpersonal skills, time management, communication and adaptability when TBL was used as teaching strategy. TBL provides an effective learning environment for diverse groups, which makes it a valuable teaching strategy in South African higher education settings.
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