An Elective Course in Differential Diagnostics

Fuentes, David

doi:10.5688/ajpe759185

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Currently, no reports exist of pharmacy schools explicitly requiring clinical reasoning to be embedded within the curricula, and only one study by Fuentes has described an elective course that introduced this concept to facilitate a differential diagnosis. 14 Emphasis is still on knowledge acquisition much more than decision-making, although more curricula time is being dedicated to physical assessment skills at both under and postgraduate level that does require comprehension of critical thinking. However, the way in which pharmacists think, reason and ultimately make decisions is a fundamental skill to adopt and master.…”

Section: Adoption Of Clinical Reasoningmentioning

confidence: 99%

Differential diagnosis in pharmacy practice: Time to adopt clinical reasoning and decision making

Rutter

Harrison

2020

Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy

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The delivery of healthcare in most developed countries is under increasing pressure. Ageing populations with increasingly complex needs, coupled with financial constraints and imbalances in workforce, mean that healthcare policies look to contain cost and utilise resource as effectively as possible. Self-care is now widely advocated as a mechanism to manage acute presentations with pharmacy identified as a key resource to support such policy. Pharmacy teams are ideally positioned to facilitate the management of patients who present with acute illness. However, current evidence suggests that patient assessment and establishing a differential diagnosis could be better. It appears that how pharmacists are taught at Schools of Pharmacy adopts a protocol driven approach, which assumes presentation of low acuity conditions, and we argue that this method must be replaced with a curriculum that adopts clinical reasoning. This paper sets out the process of clinical reasoning and how the profession could embrace this as a better model in establishing a diagnosis.

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Section: Adoption Of Clinical Reasoningmentioning

confidence: 99%

Differential diagnosis in pharmacy practice: Time to adopt clinical reasoning and decision making

Rutter

Harrison

2020

Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy

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“…Course design was modeled after the Socratic style 20 of diagnostic instruction used during the course coordinator's training as a PA at the University of Florida as well as an elective diagnosis course at another pharmacy school 21 . The course is taught in a modified problem‐based format, where students are provided a chief complaint each week and preparatory pre‐class work, consisting of required reading, assignments, and a short online quiz covering primary learning objectives.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A model for implementing diagnostic instruction within Doctor of Pharmacy degree programs

Jones

Romanelli

2021

J Am Coll Clin Pharm

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IntroductionHealth care needs in the United States (US) are expanding along with projected primary care physician shortages by the year 2030. Pharmacists' training and broad accessibility make them well positioned to provide primary care for basic medical conditions. As the profession advocates for greater patient care roles, a critical consideration in pharmacist training is a broader introduction to diagnosis; thus, instructional models will need to be developed for US pharmacy curricula.ObjectiveDescribe logistics and evaluation of one model for teaching differential diagnosis in a Pharm.D. curriculum.MethodsA retrospective pre‐post survey measured students' opinions regarding the utility of diagnostic‐related instruction and perceptions regarding its impact on their practice‐based skills and abilities. Objective course performance was also evaluated to determine if students' perceptions reflected their actual abilities. Wilcoxon signed‐rank was used for quantitative data to compare overall total scores and individual survey items pre‐post. Qualitative data were analyzed by exploratory thematic analysis using constant comparative analysis and grounded theory methodology. Descriptive statistics were used to describe objective student performance.ResultsThe survey response rate was 63% (n = 172). On all survey items, students reported improvements in their perceived abilities related to differential diagnosis after completing the course (P < .05). Student performance data indicated successful achievement of differential diagnosis knowledge, skills, and abilities for the vast majority of the class, which is congruent with their perceptions. Three themes were identified from qualitative data in terms of the applicability of diagnostic training for (a) patient assessment, (b) interprofessional communication, and (c) clinical decision‐making.ConclusionDiagnostic instruction should be considered in terms of advancing the profession. Considering benefits related to patient assessment and critical thinking skills, diagnostic instruction enables the use of a common language, fostering interprofessional communication, and understanding of scopes of practice and patient care contributions among pharmacists and diagnosticians.

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“…One school has reported the development of an elective course in very basic clinical reasoning and differential diagnosis. 7 A small number of colleges and schools have developed dual degree programs that award both PharmD and master of science in physician assistant studies (MSPAS) credentials. Certainly graduates of these hybrid programs will have gained proficiency in diagnosis.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%