Preparing Students for Community Pharmacy Practice During a Drug Information Advanced Practice Experience

Abstract

Objective. To determine whether students completing an advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) at an academic-affiliated drug information center received questions similar to those received by pharmacists practicing in community settings. Methods. Graduates of Samford University McWhorter School of Pharmacy residing in Southeastern states were surveyed via US mail to determine the characteristics of inquiries received from health care providers and the public in community practice. Survey results were compared to inquiries received at Samford University Global Drug Information Center (SUGDIS).Results. The response rate to the survey of graduates was 36% (268 of 738 surveys). Respondents identified nonprescription drugs (65%), adverse drug reactions (62.7%), and drug interactions (62.4%) as the top 3 types of questions answered routinely in community practice, while drug therapy (13.9%), dosing (10.2%), and adverse drug reactions (6.5%) were the 3 types of questions most commonly answered at SUGDIS. The most common resources used to answer questions in the community and SUGDIS were Drug Facts and Comparisons and specialty references, respectively. Conclusions. Differences were noted in types of questions received, expected speed of response, and reference utilization. As a result, activities were incorporated into the drug information APPE to address the disparities noted in the study.

Difficulty and discrimination indices of multiple-choice examination items in a college of pharmacy therapeutics and pathophysiology course sequence

“…The pharmacists' role is appropriately focused on medication use and knowledge. This is highlighted by a study demonstrating that dosing questions from health professionals were among the five most common types of questions asked at an academic affiliated drug information centre . Furthermore, dosing enquiries rated among the ‘top four’ questions asked by consumers to pharmacists at community pharmacies .…”

Librarian-Lead Tutorial for Enhancement of Pharmacy Students' Information-Searching Skills in Advanced Experiential Rotations

“…2 The 2004 Center for the Advancement of Pharmaceutical Education (CAPE) Advisory Panel on Educational Outcomes recommended that all graduates of Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) programs be proficient at providing DI. 3 To achieve this proficiency, a high percentage of the 88 U.S. colleges of pharmacy require at least one didactic DI course. 4 The content of these courses is similar and concentrates on developing a systematic approach to DI requests, understanding the organization of the biomedical literature and drug information resources, learning computerized searching skills, and assimilating information to synthesize patient-specific responses.…”

A Small Group Assignment Gives Students a Novel Opportunity to Demonstrate Current Clinical Controversies in a Self-Care Course

“…Lauderdale et al noted that while drug information electives and advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs) provide opportunities to practice literature retrieval and evaluation skills, questions students must answer in a drug information APPE may not reflect realistic questions they will encounter in community pharmacy practice. 1 This discrepancy results in limited opportunities to research responses to these types of common questions unless specific provisions are made within the curriculum. While Angelo specifically described assignments and activities within a community pharmacy APPE that encouraged development of drug information skills in the context of nonprescription drug therapy, additional literature on these methods is minimal.…”

“…On average, a community pharmacist is likely to answer anywhere from 1-10 questions per day, with most of the questions involving nonprescription drug therapy, drug interactions, or adverse drug reactions. 1 The ability to answer real-time questions from patients involving new and emerging nonprescription treatments being currently advertised is a skill necessary for a new practitioner-and one valued by patients. [1][2][3] New practitioners may feel unprepared to identify and utilize appropriate evidence-based medicine to assist in making recommendations on new trends and treatments in nonprescription medicine.…”

“…1 The ability to answer real-time questions from patients involving new and emerging nonprescription treatments being currently advertised is a skill necessary for a new practitioner-and one valued by patients. [1][2][3] New practitioners may feel unprepared to identify and utilize appropriate evidence-based medicine to assist in making recommendations on new trends and treatments in nonprescription medicine. Lauderdale et al noted that while drug information electives and advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs) provide opportunities to practice literature retrieval and evaluation skills, questions students must answer in a drug information APPE may not reflect realistic questions they will encounter in community pharmacy practice.…”