Assessment of Student Performance and Perceptions of Learning in a Medication Use Evaluation Project

Abstract

Objective. To describe and assess student perceptions and performance on a medication use evaluation (MUE) team project. Design. Following a 1-hour MUE lecture in a 62-student patient safety course, student teams (n514) were assigned a medication safety or quality issue. Teams worked with a mentor to design an MUE to address the issue. The deliverable was a verbal presentation recorded as a webinar. Assessment. Presentations were assessed by 2 reviewers for content and style. Mean score was 45.0 1/-2.7 of 50 points. Students rated level of agreement that they could perform MUE-related skills pre-and postproject (n535 and 34, respectively) on a 5-point Likert scale. Students perceived improved ability to design an MUE after project completion (median 3 vs 4; p50.003). Student comfort with sample determination, data, collaborators, study limitations, and potential project impact also improved. Conclusion. Teams achieved the objective of successfully designing an MUE, and related enabling outcomes (ie, supportive activities that contribute to designing an MUE), as measured by evaluators and student perceptions.Key Words: Medication use evaluation; medication safety; pharmacy informatics INTRODUCTIONThe American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) defines medication use evaluation (MUE) as "a performance improvement method that focuses on evaluating and improving medication-use processes with the goal of optimal patient outcomes."1 Applications of MUE can range from evaluation of the use of a specific medication or class of medications, assessment of specific steps of the medication use process (ie, selecting, procuring, ordering, dispensing, administering, or monitoring), or appraisal of patient care based on disease state. MUE can be broadly used to determine whether medication use is safe and effective compared to a standard of care at the site, rather than specific patient level; typically this aim is accomplished using observational study designs.1-2 MUE activities are required for accreditation by The Joint Commission (TJC) and are often coordinated and conducted by pharmacists. Multiple recent examples of pharmacistcoordinated MUE projects in various therapeutic areas, in both institutional [3][4][5][6][7] (eg, assessing effectiveness of a vancomycin dosing nomogram) and managed care [8][9][10] (eg, assessing whether tamoxifen is being used for evidence-based, off-label indications) settings, are available in the literature. MUE is not explicitly described in the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) Standards and Guidelines for the Professional Program in Pharmacy Leading to the Doctor of Pharmacy Degree; however, several topics related to MUE are described in Appendix B of the standards (ie, suggested didactic topics) including "managing and improving the medication use process" and "continuous quality improvement programs."11 Similarly, the Center for the Advancement of Pharmaceutical Education (CAPE) Educational Outcomes describe activities inherent to MUE such as "utilizing. . .reso...