Objectives. To identify factors associated with preceptor excellence as rated by student pharmacists and to assess the correlation of excellent ratings with years as pharmacist, specialty certification, and faculty appointment status. Methods. A retrospective analysis of student pharmacist evaluations of preceptors from May 2009 to May 2012 was completed to determine factors associated with preceptor excellence. Results. Preceptors who showed an interest in teaching, related to the student as an individual, encouraged discussion, were accessible, provided feedback, served as a role model, were organized, and/ or spent increased time with students were more likely to be rated excellent. Conclusion. Serving as role models and showing an interest in teaching demonstrated the strongest association with being an excellent preceptor. Identifying factors students associate with preceptor excellence may result in enhanced preceptor recruitment, development, and training.

Pharmacy residents exhibited high levels of perceived stress, especially those who worked more than 60 hours per week. Perceived stress was highly correlated to negative affect levels.

Objective. To increase pharmacy students' knowledge of and confidence in counseling patients regarding emergency contraception and to identify any barriers to counseling patients about emergency contraception.Design. Approximately 200 third-year pharmacy students participated in the Women's Health Therapeutics workshop at Midwestern University Chicago College of Pharmacy. Students observed a 5-minute skit of a counseling session on emergency contraception and then were asked to pair up with a classmate and practice counseling each other regarding the use of emergency contraception following a checklist of key points. Assessment. One hundred eighty-nine students completed pre-and post-workshop survey instruments. Students' knowledge scores increased from 86% to 93% (p,0.001). Approximately 25% of the students stated they were confident in counseling patients on emergency contraception before completing the active-learning exercise compared to 58.5% after (p,0.001). The most common barrier to counseling that students identified on the pre-and post-workshop survey was lack of knowledge. Conclusion. Participation in an active-learning exercise significantly increased pharmacy students' knowledge of and confidence in counseling patients regarding emergency contraception and significantly reduced several barriers to counseling identified prior to participation.

Purpose: To explore the relationship between perceived stress, environmental stressors, and self-reported medication errors for PGY1 and PGY2 pharmacy residents. Methods: A cross-sectional study design. An online questionnaire survey was sent to pharmacy residency program directors asking residents to participate. The primary objective is to evaluate the correlation between the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), self-reported medication errors among pharmacy residents, and the impact of environmental stressors on the perceived stress.Results: 524 pharmacy residents were included in the study. Pharmacy residents exhibiting high levels of Perceived stress scores reported high medication errors (p<0.001). Environmental stressors such as Time and Workload, Support, Personal, Career and Health were significant contributing factors to overall perceived stress. Conclusion:There is a positive relationship between stress levels and medication errors reported by pharmacy residents. Several environmental stressors contribute to their stress and medication errors. Further research is needed to validate the role of stress on medication errors in pharmacy residents.