Related Articles

Objective. To determine the perceptions of junior pharmacy faculty members with US doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) degrees regarding their exposure to residency, fellowship, and graduate school training options in pharmacy school. Perceptions of exposure to career options and research were also sought.

Methods. A mixed-mode survey instrument was developed and sent to assistant professors at US colleges and schools of pharmacy.

Results. Usable responses were received from 735 pharmacy faculty members. Faculty members perceived decreased exposure to and awareness of fellowship and graduate education training as compared to residency training. Awareness of and exposure to academic careers and research-related fields was low from a faculty recruitment perspective.

Conclusions. Ensuring adequate exposure of pharmacy students to career paths and postgraduate training opportunities could increase the number of PharmD graduates who choose academic careers or other pharmacy careers resulting from postgraduate training.

Objectives. To evaluate scholarship, as represented by peer-reviewed journal articles, among US pharmacy practice faculty members; contribute evidence that may better inform benchmarking by academic pharmacy practice departments; and examine factors that may be related to publication rates.

Methods. Journal articles published by all pharmacy practice faculty members between January 1, 2006, and December 31, 2010, were identified. College and school publication rates were compared based on public vs. private status, being part of a health science campus, having a graduate program, and having doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) faculty members funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Results. Pharmacy practice faculty members published 6,101 articles during the 5-year study period, and a pharmacy practice faculty member was the primary author on 2,698 of the articles. Pharmacy practice faculty members published an average of 0.51 articles per year. Pharmacy colleges and schools affiliated with health science campuses, at public institutions, with NIH-funded PharmD faculty members, and with graduate programs had significantly higher total publication rates compared with those that did not have these characteristics (p<0.006).

Conclusion. Pharmacy practice faculty members contributed nearly 6,000 unique publications over the 5-year period studied. However, this reflects a rate of less than 1 publication per faculty member per year, suggesting that a limited number of faculty members produced the majority of publications.

Objectives

To describe the University of Tennessee PharmD/PhD program and assess the prevalence and characteristics of PharmD/PhD programs in the United States.

Methods

Survey instruments were mailed in May 2004 to UT dual-degree program participants and deans of US colleges and schools of pharmacy.

Results

University of Tennessee PharmD/PhD students completed more than 30 hours of graduate credit before obtaining their PharmD and 72.2% agreed or strongly agreed that the program met their professional goals. More than 40% of US pharmacy colleges and schools have or plan to have PharmD/PhD programs. A wide variation exists in the level of integration, PhD concentrations offered, entrance requirements, and student benefits. Most schools with PharmD/PhD programs had few students enrolled in the program, but attrition rates were low (<20%) for 69% of the schools.

Conclusions

Dual-degree programs attract and retain pharmacy students in research programs and 47.6% of graduates entered academia and industry.

Objectives

Evaluate the academic experience and satisfaction of students enrolled in the dual PharmD/MBA degree program between the South Carolina College of Pharmacy and The Citadel's School of Business Administration. Compare grade point averages of students enrolled in the dual degree program with those of traditional student colleagues.

Methods

A standardized satisfaction survey instrument was administered to 32 students currently enrolled in the dual PharmD/MBA degree program. Grade point averages (GPAs) in both pharmacy and business coursework were also collected for analysis.

Results

There were slightly higher percentages of both female and minority students in the dual degree program compared to the pharmacy class as a whole. Eighteen (56%) of students completed the survey, and responses were generally positive. The mean GPA of students in the dual degree program was higher than that of both pharmacy (3.37 vs 3.08, p < 0.001) and business (3.72 vs 3.64, not statistically significant) students not enrolled in the dual degree program.

Conclusions

Students enrolled in the dual degree program did better academically than their counterparts and indicated an overall high level of satisfaction with the program.

Objective

To assess the current status of multi-campus colleges and schools of pharmacy within the United States.

Methods

Data on multi-campus programs, technology, communication, and opinions regarding benefits and challenges were collected from Web sites, e-mail, and phone interviews from all colleges and schools of pharmacy with students in class on more than 1 campus.

Results

Twenty schools and colleges of pharmacy (18 public and 2 private) had multi-campus programs; 16 ran parallel campuses and 4 ran sequential campuses. Most programs used synchronous delivery of classes. The most frequently reported reasons for establishing the multi-campus program were to have access to a hospital and/or medical campus and clinical resources located away from the main campus and to increase class size. Effectiveness of distance education technology was most often sited as a challenge.

Conclusion

About 20% of colleges and schools of pharmacy have multi-campus programs most often to facilitate access to clinical resources and to increase class size. These programs expand learning opportunities and face challenges related to technology, resources, and communication.

University of Maryland School of Pharmacy was in a quandary: its comprehensive mission required meeting state workforce needs while increasing educational quality, expanding research, and responding to service needs, but state resources were declining, faculty members were stressed, construction of a long-needed new building was stalled, and pressure to increase doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) enrollment was growing. A sharp challenge from the Board of Regents mobilized the school to quickly launch a growth initiative to accelerate PharmD program expansion through a satellite campus. Within 4 months, a plan was approved that not only led to enrollment growth, but also to a significant expansion of the faculty and staff, increased operating and capital budgets, and ground breaking for an $83 million new building. This case study illustrates how seemingly competitive needs such as teaching, research, and service can be woven together synergistically to accomplish multiple goals.

Objective. To describe the integration of science of safety (SoS) topics in doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) curricula of US colleges and schools of pharmacy.

Methods. A questionnaire that contained items pertaining to what and how SoS topics are taught in PharmD curricula was e-mailed to representatives at 107 US colleges and schools of pharmacy.

Results. The majority of the colleges and schools responding indicated that they had integrated SoS topics into their curriculum, however, some gaps (eg, teaching students about communicating risk, Food and Drug Administration [FDA] Sentinel Initiative, utilizing patient databases) were identified that need to be addressed.

Conclusions. The FDA and the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) should continue to collaborate to develop resources needed to ensure that topics proposed by the FDA in their SoS framework are taught at all colleges and schools of pharmacy.

Objective

To examine the type and extent of pharmacoepidemiology education offered by US colleges and schools of pharmacy.

Methods

An electronic Web-survey was sent to all 89 US colleges and schools of pharmacy between October 2005 and January 2006 to examine the type and extent of pharmacoepidemiology education offered to professional (PharmD) and graduate (MS/PhD) students.

Results

The response rate was 100%. Of the 89 schools surveyed, 69 (78%) provided pharmacoepidemiology education to their professional students. A mean of 119 (±60) PharmD students per college/school per year received some pharmacoepidemiology education (range 1-60 classroom hours; median 10 hours). Thirty-five schools (39%) provided education to a mean of 6 (±5) graduate students (range 2-135 classroom hours; median 15 hours).

Conclusions

A majority of US colleges and schools of pharmacy offer some pharmacoepidemiology education in their curriculum. However, the topics offered by each school and number of classroom hours varied at both the professional and graduate level.

Objectives

To describe current objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) practices in doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) programs in the United States.

Methods

Structured interviews were conducted with PharmD faculty members between September 2008 and May 2010 to collect information about awareness of and interest in OSCE, current OSCE practices, and barriers to OSCEs.

Results

Of 108 US colleges and schools of pharmacy identified, interviews were completed for a representative sample of 88 programs (81.5% participation rate). Thirty-two pharmacy programs reported using OSCEs; however, practices within these programs varied. Eleven of the programs consistently administered examinations of 3 or more stations, required all students to complete the same scenario(s), and had processes in place to ensure consistency of standardized patients' role portrayal. Of the 55 programs not using OSCEs, approximately half were interested in using the technique. Common barriers to OSCE implementation or expansion were cost and faculty members' workloads.

Conclusions

There is wide interest in using OSCEs within pharmacy education. However, few colleges and schools of pharmacy conduct OSCEs in an optimal manner, and most do not adhere to best practices in OSCE construction and administration.

Objectives

To assess the breadth, depth, and perceived importance of pharmacogenomics instruction and level of faculty development in this area in schools and colleges of pharmacy in the United States.

Methods

A questionnaire used and published previously was further developed and sent to individuals at all US schools and colleges of pharmacy. Multiple approaches were used to enhance response.

Results

Seventy-five (83.3%) questionnaires were returned. Sixty-nine colleges (89.3%) included pharmacogenomics in their PharmD curriculum compared to 16 (39.0%) as reported in a 2005 study. Topic coverage was <10 hours for 28 (40.6%), 10-30 hours for 29 (42.0%), and 31-60 hours for 10 (14.5%) colleges and schools of pharmacy. Fewer than half (46.7%) were planning to increase course work over the next 3 years and 54.7% had no plans for faculty development related to pharmacogenomics.

Conclusions

Most US colleges of pharmacy include pharmacogenomics content in their curriculum, however, the depth may be limited. The majority did not have plans for faculty development in the area of pharmacogenomic content expertise.

Objectives. To compare the elective courses offered by US colleges and schools of pharmacy to establish a benchmark for individual colleges and schools to use in assessing whether they offer a sufficient amount and variety of electives.

Methods. Internet Web sites of US doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) programs were reviewed to identify the number of elective lecture-based courses and elective advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPE) offered and required. Elective courses were grouped into categories to determine the variety of offerings.

Results. Pharmacy students were required to complete a mean of 7 hours of classroom-based elective courses. Thirty-two lecture-based elective courses were offered per college or school, and the mean number of categories of courses offered was 24. An average of 3 required APPEs was offered within 24 categories.

Conclusions. Pharmacy programs varied in the number of and requirements for elective courses. Most elective courses expanded on what was taught in the required curriculum vs informing on unique concepts or skills.

Objective

To document teaching evaluation practices in colleges and schools of pharmacy.

Methods

A 51-item questionnaire was developed based on the instrument used in a previous study with modifications made to address changes in pharmacy education. An online survey service was used to distribute the electronic questionnaire to the deans of 98 colleges and schools of pharmacy in the United States.

Results

Completed surveys were received from 89 colleges and schools of pharmacy. All colleges/schools administered student evaluations of classroom and experiential teaching. Faculty peer evaluation of classroom teaching was used by 66% of colleges/schools. Use of other evaluation methods had increased over the previous decade, including use of formalized self-appraisal of teaching, review of teaching portfolios, interviews with samples of students, and review by teaching experts. While the majority (55%) of colleges/schools administered classroom teaching evaluations at or near the conclusion of a course, 38% administered them at the midpoint and/or conclusion of a faculty member's teaching within a team-taught course. Completion of an online evaluation form was the most common method used for evaluation of classroom (54%) and experiential teaching (72%).

Conclusion

Teaching evaluation methods used in colleges and schools of pharmacy expanded from 1996 to 2007 to include more evaluation of experiential teaching, review by peers, formalized self-appraisal of teaching, review of teaching portfolios, interviews with samples of students, review by teaching experts, and evaluation by alumni. Procedures for conducting student evaluations of teaching have adapted to address changes in curriculum delivery and technology.

Objectives. To design, implement, and assess the effectiveness of using a live video teleconferencing system to connect the main campus and a satellite campus during laboratory compounding exercises in a doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) program.

Design. A new laboratory facility with identical equipment and supplies to the main campus was built at the satellite campus and teleconferencing equipment was set up. Students on both campuses prepared 20 compounded formulations over a 5-course pharmaceutical care laboratory sequence. Live video teleconferencing was used for students to ask questions and for the lead faculty instructor to observe the students’ technique. Faculty and staff members and teaching assistants facilitated the laboratory sessions on both campuses.

Assessment. The performance of students on assayed products at the main campus was compared with that of students at the satellite campus to ensure program integrity with the compounding laboratory component. The use of video teleconferencing for teaching compounding was successful and no difference in overall student pass rates was seen. The few observed differences in student performance between the 2 campuses were believed to be a result of variations in instructor communication with distant students.

Conclusion. Video teleconferencing can be used successfully to deliver curriculum in laboratory compounding to pharmacy students.

Objectives

To describe PharmD students' work experiences and activities; examine their attitudes towards their work; examine perceptions of preceptor pharmacists they worked with; and determine important issues associated with career preference.

Methods

A written survey was administered to third-year doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) students at 8 colleges and schools of pharmacy in the Midwest.

Results

Five hundred thirty-three students (response rate = 70.4%) completed the survey instrument. Nearly 100% of PharmD students reported working in a pharmacy by the time their advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs) began. Seventy-eight percent reported working in a community pharmacy, and 67% had worked in a chain community pharmacy. For all practice settings, students reported spending 69% of their time on activities such as compounding, dispensing, and distribution of drug products.

Conclusions

Most students are working in community pharmacy (mainly chain) positions where their primary function is traditional drug product dispensing and distribution. Having a controllable work schedule was the variable most strongly associated with career choice for all students.

Objectives

To assess the train-the-trainer component of an initiative (Partners in D) to train pharmacy students to facilitate patient enrollment in the best Medicare Part D prescription drug plan (Part D).

Methods

Faculty members from 6 California colleges or schools of pharmacy were taught how to train pharmacy students about Medicare Part D and how to conduct outreach events targeting underserved patient populations. A preintervention and postintervention survey instrument was administered to determine participants' (1) knowledge of the Part D program; (2) skill using the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Finder tool; and (3) confidence in their ability to train pharmacy students. Implementation of the Partners in D curriculum in faculty members' colleges or schools of pharmacy was also determined.

Results

Participants' knowledge of Part D, mastery of the Plan Finder, and confidence in teaching the material to pharmacy students all significantly improved. Within 8 weeks following the program, 5 of 6 colleges or schools of pharmacy adopted Partners in D coursework and initiated teaching the Partners-in-D curriculum. Four months afterwards, 21 outreach events reaching 186 Medicare beneficiaries had been completed.

Conclusions

The train-the-trainer component of the Partners in D program is practical and effective, and merits serious consideration as a national model for educating patients about Medicare Part D.

Objectives

To engage pharmacy students at the McWhorter School of Pharmacy in an authentic discussion of professionalism early in their education.

Methods

A booklet was prepared that included several classic short stories and essays that dealt with professionalism. This booklet was sent to all entering students in the class of 2008 and 2009 during the summer prior to their first-professional year of the PharmD program. The stories and essays were discussed in small groups with faculty facilitation during orientation when the students first arrived on campus. A survey instrument was created and administered to assess the impact of this innovative approach to enhancing professionalism.

Results

The program was well received and engaged our pharmacy students in a productive discussion on professionalism. Both classes' mean scores on survey items related that the students were engaged in the discussion of professionalism. Survey results pertaining to professional behavior also indicated increased awareness of the importance of professionalism.

Conclusion

Enhancing professionalism requires a culture change that necessitates addressing professionalism at its core, a calling to serve, in a persistent and continual manner. Requiring students to read and think about professionalism in a novel way, before they even begin their first-professional year of pharmacy school, appears to be an effective approach to nurturing/encouraging professionalism.

Objective

To determine faculty and administrator perceptions about appropriate behavior in social interactions between pharmacy students and faculty members.

Methods

Four private and 2 public colleges and schools of pharmacy conducted focus groups of faculty members and interviews with administrators. Three scenarios describing social interactions between faculty members and students were used. For each scenario, participants reported whether the faculty member's behavior was appropriate and provided reasons for their opinions.

Results

Forty-four percent of those surveyed or interviewed considered interactions between faculty members and pharmacy students at a bar to be a boundary violation. Administrators were more likely than faculty members to consider discussing other faculty members with a student to be a boundary violation (82% vs. 46%, respectively, P <0.009). A majority (87%) of faculty members and administrators considered “friending” students on Facebook a boundary violation.

Conclusions

There was no clear consensus about whether socializing with students at a bar was a boundary violation. In general, study participants agreed that faculty members should not initiate friendships with current students on social networks but that taking a student employee to lunch was acceptable.

Objectives

To describe the funding, education, enrollment, and graduation patterns from economic, social, and administrative sciences PhD programs in colleges and schools of pharmacy in the United States.

Methods

Economic, social, and administrative sciences PhD programs were identified from the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) Web site. A 41-item online survey instrument was sent to the director of graduate studies of each identified program. Only programs offering a PhD degree were included in the study.

Results

Of the 26 programs surveyed, 20 (77%) provided useable responses to the survey instrument. Approximately 91% of PhD programs guarantee funding to incoming students with an average commitment of 2.9 years. On average, students were paid a stipend of $18,000 per year for commitments to research and teaching assistantships, each averaging approximately 2 years in length. Programs admitted an average of 3.5 students per year and graduated approximately 85% of entering students. The majority of students are non-US citizens and accept positions in either academic or industrial positions after graduation.

Conclusions

Most economic, social, and administrative sciences PhD programs guarantee funding to incoming PhD candidates. Programs offering funding packages significantly below the average may be at a competitive disadvantage. It is unclear whether the number of students graduating from PhD programs is adequate to fulfill academic and industrial needs.

Objectives

To enhance the clinical training and financial support of graduate students in a Clinical Pharmaceutical Scientist PhD Program at the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy.

Design

The School of Pharmacy and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center entered into a collaborative agreement to develop the Clinical Scientist Associate (CSA) program, as well as financially support students enrolled in a Pharmaceutical Sciences PhD program. These clinical training experiences are in addition to the didactic and laboratory experiences in the pharmaceutical sciences graduate program.

Assessment

Since 2002, three students have participated as CSAs, simultaneously working on their graduate research and meeting the requirements of the CSA program.

Conclusions

The CSA program is a novel model for clinical training and support of post-PharmD graduate students enrolled in a PhD clinical pharmaceutical scientist program.

Objectives

To compare student and faculty perceptions of the delivery and achievement of professional competencies in a doctor of pharmacy program in order to provide data for both accountability and curricular improvement purposes.

Design

A survey instrument was designed based on current learning theory, and 76 specific competency statements generated from mission and goal statements of The Ohio State University College of Pharmacy and the Center for the Advancement of Pharmaceutical Education. This instrument was administered to PharmD program students and faculty.

Assessment

The number of competencies by program year that are delivered in the curriculum, the percent of students and faculty reporting individual competency delivery and achievement, and differences between student and faculty perceptions of competency delivery and achievement are reported.

Conclusion

The faculty and student opinions provided an in-depth view of curricular outcomes. Gathering perception data from faculty and students about the delivery and achievement of competencies in a PharmD program can be used to both meet accreditation requirements (accountability) and to improve the curriculum (improvement).

Objective

To determine the relationship and impact of student-faculty ratio on scholarship of pharmacy faculty members.

Methods

The number and rank of faculty members, pharmacy program characteristics, and faculty productivity data were collected to determine the impact of student-faculty ratio on faculty scholarship.

Results

Faculty scholarship was not predicted by student-faculty ratio. Factors impacting positively on faculty productivity included National Institutes of Health funding; presence of clinical associate professors, instructors, and lecturers; and programs located in public universities.

Conclusions

Faculty productivity is not related to the student-faculty ratio, wherein more faculty members and fewer students equates to increased scholarship. However, public universities may have different infrastructures which are associated with greater academic productivity compared to private institutions. Additionally, utilizing instructors and clinical or nontenure-track faculty members can significantly increase scholarship among faculty members.

Objective. To determine yearly (phase 1) and cumulative (phase 2) publication records of pharmaceutical science faculty members at research-intensive colleges and schools of pharmacy.

Methods. The publication records of pharmaceutical science faculty members at research-intensive colleges and schools of pharmacy were searched on Web of Science. Fifty colleges and schools of pharmacy were randomly chosen for a search of 1,042 individual faculty members’ publications per year from 2005 to 2009. A stratified random sample of 120 faculty members also was chosen, and cumulative publication counts were recorded and bibliometric indices calculated.

Results. The median number of publications per year was 2 (range, 0-34). Overall, 22% of faculty members had no publications in any given year, but the number was highly variable depending on the faculty members’ colleges or schools of pharmacy. Bibliometric indices were higher for medicinal chemistry and pharmaceutics, with pharmacology ranking third and social and administrative sciences fourth. Higher bibliometric indices were also observed for institution status (ie, public vs private) and academic rank (discipline chairperson vs non-chairperson and professor vs junior faculty member) (p<0.01 for each). The median number of cumulative publications per faculty member was 34 (range, 0-370).

Conclusion. Significant differences exist in yearly and cumulative publication rates for faculty members and bibliometric indices among pharmaceutical science disciplines and academic ranks within research-intensive colleges and schools of pharmacy. These data may be important for benchmarking purposes.

Objective. To determine the effectiveness of a summer pharmacy camp on participants’ pursuit of enrollment in doctor of pharmacy degree programs.

Methods. All participants (n = 135) in a pharmacy camp at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) College of Pharmacy from 2007-2010 were invited to complete an anonymous online survey instrument.

Results. Seventy-three students completed the survey instrument (54% response rate). Ninety-six percent of pharmacy camp participants said that they would recommend pharmacy camp to a friend, and 76% planned to apply or had applied to doctor of pharmacy degree program. Seven of the camp participants had enrolled in the UAMS College of Pharmacy.

Conclusions. The pharmacy summer camp at UAMS is effective in maintaining high school students’ interest in the profession of pharmacy. Continued use of the pharmacy camp program as a recruitment tool is warranted; however, additional research on this topic is needed.

Objectives

To ascertain background factors that influence pharmacy students' willingness to cheat, describe attitudes regarding methods of cheating, assess prevalence of cheating and determine atmospheres that may aid in preventing academic dishonesty.

Methods

Third-professional year PharmD students at 4 institutions participated in a survey administered by a class representative.

Results

Of the 296 students who completed survey instruments, 16.3% admitted to cheating during pharmacy school. Approximately 74% admitted that either they or their classmates had worked on an individual assignment with a friend. Students who cheated during high school or in a prepharmacy program were more likely to cheat during pharmacy school (p < 0.0001). Those who possessed a bachelor of science (BS) degree prior to pharmacy school were less likely to cheat (p < 0.0001).

Conclusions

Academic dishonesty is prevalent among pharmacy students. While few respondents directly admitted to cheating, many admitted to activities traditionally defined as dishonest.

Objective. To evaluate the level of competency and knowledge about health disparities among third-year doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) students at 2 Florida public colleges of pharmacy and to explore the demographic correlates of these variables.

Methods. A cross-sectional survey study design was used to collect data from participants.

Results. The students had low health-disparities knowledge and moderate skills in dealing with sociocultural issues and cross-cultural encounters. Speaking a language(s) other than English and having exposure to cultural-competency instruction were the demographic variables found to be most significantly associated with clinical cultural competency and/or knowledge of health disparities.

Conclusions. Clinical cultural competency and health-disparities instruction may not be adequately incorporated into the pharmacy school curricula in the institutions studied. Relevant education and training are necessary to enhance cultural competency among pharmacy students.