Pharmacy Students’ Attitudes Toward Geriatric Nursing Home Patients

Abstract

Objective. To determine the attitudes of second-year pharmacy students toward older people in general and geriatric patients in particular after attending an Early Pharmacy Practice Experiences 2 course. Methods. One hundred forty-four second-year pharmacy students completed the Geriatrics Knowledge Test and Attitudes Survey between 2008 and 2010. Results. On 11 of 14 items, most students had a favorable opinion of older people and providing geriatric care (mean . 3.0 on a 5-point scale). For example, students believed that treatment of chronically ill elderly patients is not hopeless ( 4.2 6 1.0) and that most older people are pleasant to be with ( 3.8 6 1.0). Gender, age, race/ethnicity, marital status, having children, and rural or nonrural upbringing were not related to the students' attitudes for most items. Conclusion. Although the majority of second-year pharmacy students had favorable attitudes toward older people and geriatric care, the lack of research in this area suggests that further studies are needed.

Development and preliminary validation of an ageism scale for dental students

“…5 The importance of understanding ageism in an ever-aging society led to the development and application of several tools to help researchers assess ageism among different populations and in different cultures. These tools include the Kogan scale, 6-10 the Palmore quiz, 11,12 the Fraboni scale, [13][14][15][16] the UCLA-GAS scale by Reuben et al , [17][18][19][20][21][22][23] the Maxwell and Sullivan scale, 24 and, more recently, the North and Fiske scale. 25 Those scales are either generic 8,9,11,13,25 or were initially developed to investigate the attitudes of primary care residents 17 or family practice residents 24 toward the elderly patients.…”

Geriatric and Student Perceptions following Student-led Educational Sessions

“…9 In accordance with existing literature, students reported increased comfort and confidence in working with the elderly after participation in an event. [3][4][5][6] With focused training prior to the event, students were able to successfully teach elderly participants non-pharmacologic strategies to improve their daily lives, and possibly to extend that effect to their homebound clients. Baseline comfort among the pharmacy students in this study was higher than anticipated.…”

“…[3][4][5][6] Students were successful in increasing patients' perceptions of their healthcare knowledge of covered topics in several areas. When comparing the results of pre-and post-event surveys, statistical significance was reached in at least one item in all three events.…”

“…Research has shown a positive correlation between improved attitudes of pharmacy learners and communication with geriatric patients. [3][4][5][6] What remains a question is the impact of interactions between pharmacy students and the aging population on the geriatric patients themselves. Delivery of quality health-related education, in a patient-friendly manner, is the quintessential role of a pharmacist.…”

Using Virtual Patient Software to Improve Pharmacy Students’ Knowledge of and Attitudes Toward Geriatric Patients

“…1 There has been some effort to assess which teaching methods may be more effective for the inclusion of geriatric themes in order to optimize future pharmacists' competencies in caring for the elderly because they are the largest consumers of medications. 8 In this context, the increasing emphasis on competency development-based education affirms the exploration of the role of VP technology in geriatric education. 9 However, although some geriatrics programs have started using VP software as a teaching tool, its use has not been widespread, especially in pharmacy colleges.…”