issue of the Journal, "Smartphones, Memory, and Pharmacy Education." 1 In their response, they recommended the use of smartphones in pharmacy education as not only devices to look up information but also as learning tools to "expand [students'] knowledgebase." 2 There are many applications designed to enhance and assess learning in the modern environment including those specific to pharmacy education. For example, MyDispense provides a simulated environment that allows pharmacy students to acquire dispensing knowledge, to self-assess their dispensing accuracy, and to develop interpersonal skills. 2 We, as pharmacy educators, should be maximizing the use of these types of technologies to enrich the educational experiences of our students. In addition, you proposed extending the use of technology to clinical practice but cautioned that inconsistencies and inaccuracies exist within some online medical resources. To this point, it is not only an imperative to provide students with foundational knowledge but also with critical thinking skills. Students and practitioners should not be using information from online resources without considering context, but rather, they should be applying their pharmacy education to determine if the information provided is both accurate and consistent with their recognition of conflicting information. With smartphones becoming increasingly more integrated into our daily experiences, we should be looking for ways to leverage the use of these devices to enhance and improve pharmacy education. However, we should also be teaching the vital skills needed to use them-and the information they provide-in a safe and appropriate manner.
Purpose: Female faculty and students could be affected by stressors disproportionately compared to male counterparts, especially those with children or family obligations. A study was undertaken to determine: 1) stress levels of pharmacy faculty and first-year pharmacy students; 2) whether gender affected faculty and/or student stress levels disproportionally; and 3) how child and family care responsibilities influenced stress levels. Methods: All first-year (P1) students enrolled in a College of Pharmacy were surveyed along with faculty. Stress levels were assessed using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS10). Additional demographic information, including items related to children and family obligations, was collected. Results: Faculty reported average perceived stress levels (M=15.50) while first-year students reported high perceived stress levels (M=21.14). Perceived stress levels of female faculty (M=16.43) were higher than those of male faculty (M=12.00). Perceived stress levels of female students (M=22.60) were higher than those of male students (M=16.78). Perceived stress levels of female faculty with younger children (M=18.85) were higher than those of male faculty with younger children (M=9.67). Perceived stress levels of female students with ≥10 hours of family obligations per week (M=22.71) were higher than male pharmacy students with ≥10 hours (M=12.80). Conclusion: Lower levels of perceived stress for faculty compared to students may be due to the development of coping strategies coinciding with maturity. Results suggest more time spent on family obligations is negatively associated with stress levels for females, but not males. Colleges of pharmacy should invest resources to help reduce stress levels in faculty and student populations, particularly for the female gender.
Objective. To evaluate the short-term effectiveness of an online bridging course to increase the knowledge of struggling incoming students' in crucial content areas within the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) curriculum. Methods. An assessment was administered to all incoming first-year pharmacy students (N5180) during orientation to determine their foundational knowledge in key areas. Students who scored ,70% on the assessment (N5137) were instructed to complete a 10-module, online, self-directed bridging course focusing on physiology, biochemistry, math, and medical terminology during the first two weeks of the quarter to prepare them for first-quarter coursework. After completing the bridging course, participants completed the same assessment to determine content knowledge acquisition and retention. At the end of the quarter, the assessment was again administered to all first-year students, regardless of whether they had completed the bridging course. Results. The average assessment score of students who completed the bridging course modules improved significantly (53% vs 76%). All students demonstrated significant improvement in assessment scores between orientation and the end of the quarter; however, bridging course participants achieved a greater increase in assessment scores (53% vs 73%) than nonparticipants (76% vs 81%). Significant relationships were found between assessment scores following completion of the bridging course and pass rates in first-quarter courses. Conclusion. The online, self-directed bridging course offered at Midwestern University, Chicago College of Pharmacy proved successful as a method of knowledge acquisition and as a system for early identification (within the first two weeks of the quarter) of students in need of additional academic support.
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