Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning RSS feed: Current Issue. Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning is a quarterly publication that is devoted to dissemination of high quality, peer-reviewed scholarship relevant to all areas of pharmacy education. The Journal and its Editorial Staff endeavor to attract and publish manuscripts from a variety of disciplines and educational settings to promote excellence in educational research. The Journal and its Editorial Staff look to incorporate a broad range of manuscript types (e.g. short communications, full research papers, review articles, opinions and perspectives) in each issue and, in so doing, attract contributions from educators at all levels, graduate students, pharmacists actively involved in student and/or patient education, as well as from other members of the healthcare team. Article topics shall span all components of pharmacy education including, but not limited to, innovative teaching and learning strategies, skills development, assessment of educational outcomes, practical tips from seasoned educators, new school and new program startup strategies, successful approaches to/implementation of curricular revision, as well as topics on attitudes and perceptions within pharmacy education.http://www.pharmacyteaching.com/?rss=yesElsevier Inc.en © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning1877-129723July 2010 © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. healthpermissions@elsevier.comhttp://www.pharmacyteaching.com/article/PIIS1877129710000560/abstract?rss=yesThe happiness of a man in this life does not consist in the absence but in the mastery of his passions.—Alfred Lord Tennyson Whether it is the tone in someone's voice, the glimmer in his/her eye, or the rapid pumping of a fist—it doesn't matter student, staff, or faculty—it typically isn't hard to figure out what excites each of us, as nearly all of us are passionate about one or more aspects of our lives.“Passion”: where is yours?Robin M. Zavod10.1016/j.cptl.2010.05.001Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning 2, 3 (2010)2010-07-01Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning2010-07-0123S1877-1297(10)X0004-1Editorials131132http://www.pharmacyteaching.com/article/PIIS1877129710000493/abstract?rss=yesThis manuscript was developed as I reflected on current events in the retail or community pharmacy setting. I hesitate to use the term community interchangeably with retail because I think the terms describe two distinct practice settings. Indeed, both practice settings exist. I associate community with the practice setting in which patient care is top priority, whereas retail describes the setting in which volume of prescriptions and/or speed of service supplants patient care. For clarity and consistency, however, I will use the term community to describe practice settings of concern in this manuscript.Transforming the Community Pharmacy Setting: Academe's ResponsibilityNicholas E. Hagemeier10.1016/j.cptl.2010.04.002Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning 2, 3 (2010)2010-07-01Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning2010-07-0123S1877-1297(10)X0004-1Editorials133137http://www.pharmacyteaching.com/article/PIIS1877129710000559/abstract?rss=yesAbstract: Objective: To provide the foundation for unique psychiatric-based experiential rotations to fourth-year pharmacy students that focus on optimizing health care for intellectually disabled persons.Design: The University of Oklahoma College of Pharmacy faculty, Clinical Pharmacology Services unit (three faculty and one administrative support) provides an externally funded pharmacist-based consulting service that specializes in serving intellectually disabled persons. A variety of services is provided to community- and institutionally-based persons and is overseen by the Department of Human Services–Developmentally Disabled Services Division.Assessment: Development of an increased knowledge base for the unique needs of this population and their medication use, as well as the development of enhanced oral and written communication skills are stressed. Students demonstrate their increased grasp of a variety of concerns related to this population through written and oral communications, including presentations, discussions, and participation in treatment activities.Conclusion: The scope and nature of pharmacy practice continues to evolve and expand beyond traditional practice experiences. A number of nontraditional practice areas exist that provide unique practice opportunities for pharmacists. Exposure of pharmacy students to these opportunities is critical to their professional development, as well as for mentoring future practitioners for these specialty practices.A student practice experience focusing on the intellectually disabledNancy Brahm, Kevin C. Farmer10.1016/j.cptl.2010.04.008Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning 2, 3 (2010)2010-07-01Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning2010-07-0123S1877-1297(10)X0004-1Short communications138143http://www.pharmacyteaching.com/article/PIIS1877129710000547/abstract?rss=yesAbstract: Objectives: To describe changes in the delivery of the pharmaceutical calculations course associated with incorporation of synchronized audio/visual recordings (pencasts) using the Livescribe Pulse™ pen.Design: First-year professional students enrolled in a Doctor of Pharmacy program (n = 108) participated weekly in two one-hour lecture sessions in a web-assisted pharmaceutical calculations course. This manuscript describes the use of supplemental paper-based computing with pencasting in a web-assisted pharmaceutical calculations course.Assessment: Surveys were distributed to all students enrolled in the pharmacy calculations course. Student perspectives for the paper-based computing enhancements were collected and evaluated.Conclusion: Nearly half (46%) of students surveyed reported using pencasts, and 92.6% of students who reported using pencasts believed that pencasts enhanced learning. Students also responded that pencasts may be beneficial for other pharmacy courses, including pharmaceutics, medicinal chemistry, biochemistry, chemistry, physical chemistry, and pharmacology.A brief report on the use of paper-based computing to supplement a pharmaceutical calculations courseMary F. Powers, David R. Bright, Patrick S. Bugaj10.1016/j.cptl.2010.04.007Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning 2, 3 (2010)2010-07-01Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning2010-07-0123S1877-1297(10)X0004-1Short communications144148http://www.pharmacyteaching.com/article/PIIS1877129710000511/abstract?rss=yesAbstract: The purpose of this study was to identify teaching skills commonly taught during the postgraduate pharmacy teaching skills development programs, to describe trainees' perceived teaching proficiency, and the extent to which the learned teaching skills are applied in trainees' current positions. An online survey was developed for pharmacists who completed postgraduate teaching skills development programs. The survey included demographic and program queries as well as questions on 23 teaching skills. Participants self-assessed their proficiency in and application of their learned teaching skills. The online survey resulted in 122 qualified responses. After training, the perceived proficiency in nearly all 23 teaching skills was high; however, the scores for application of teaching skills were significantly lower. A majority (91.7%) of survey respondents were engaged in experiential education. There is wide variability among the postgraduate pharmacy teaching skills development programs. Though the trainees perceived their proficiency in teaching skills to be high, the acquired teaching skills were underused.Self-assessed proficiency and application of various skills learned during postgraduate pharmacy teaching skills development programsAnna Ratka, Paul O. Gubbins, Carol A. Motycka, Jane M. Gervasio, Mark S. Johnson, Ron W. Maddox10.1016/j.cptl.2010.04.004Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning 2, 3 (2010)2010-07-01Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning2010-07-0123S1877-1297(10)X0004-1Original articles149159http://www.pharmacyteaching.com/article/PIIS1877129710000481/abstract?rss=yesAbstract: Objectives: Practicing pharmacists frequently encounter questions with regard to the use of drugs in pregnancy or in women planning to become pregnant. A survey was developed to examine and describe the type and extent of curricular integration of this content in schools and colleges of pharmacy.Methods: A 19-item electronic questionnaire was developed and distributed via multiple list-servs to obtain a response from each Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education–accredited school of pharmacy (96 schools at time of survey administration). For those schools that offered this course, 14 additional questions targeted course design and structure.Results: Of 81 school responses, 10 schools of pharmacy (12.3%) offered a “Drugs in Pregnancy” course and four schools were developing or considering this course. In schools without specific courses, 93% of respondents stated this material was incorporated into other courses, with 59% indicating that the approach was insufficient.Conclusion: As pharmacists are consulted about medication use in pregnancy, it is imperative that students are informed about appropriate resources and educated to provide accurate responses. The ability to share curricular models of the incorporation of “Drugs in Pregnancy” courses may encourage assessment of curricular mapping of this content by other schools and colleges of pharmacy.Availability of “Drugs in Pregnancy” electives in pharmacy schoolsLea S. Eiland, Kristi W. Kelley10.1016/j.cptl.2010.04.001Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning 2, 3 (2010)2010-07-01Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning2010-07-0123S1877-1297(10)X0004-1Original articles160170http://www.pharmacyteaching.com/article/PIIS1877129710000535/abstract?rss=yesAbstract: Objectives: To describe the design, content, and student evaluation of an introductory biostatistics course in the Doctor of Pharmacy curriculum.Design: This is a required course for first professional year pharmacy students at Purdue University. The course was offered for the first time in the fall semester of 2005 and has been since offered yearly. The course is a 1.5-credit hour course dedicated to biostatistics instruction.Assessment: Student evaluations of the course have improved in almost all categories since its implementation. Although the relevance of statistics to the profession of pharmacy is the most commonly recurring written comment, it is not reflected by quantitative course evaluations. Furthermore, the student evaluations of the relevance of statistics to the profession of pharmacy has improved since the implementation of this course (p = 0.0024).Conclusions: This course in biostatistics provided students with an understanding of the use and application of biostatistics to problems related to pharmacy and the pharmaceutical sciences. The course is useful in the preparation of students for future courses in the professional curriculum.Development and student evaluation of an introductory biostatistics course as a required course in the doctor of pharmacy curriculumBrian R. Overholser, Kevin M. Sowinski10.1016/j.cptl.2010.04.006Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning 2, 3 (2010)2010-07-01Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning2010-07-0123S1877-1297(10)X0004-1Original articles171179http://www.pharmacyteaching.com/article/PIIS1877129710000523/abstract?rss=yesAbstract: Background: Students that enter pharmacy school have varying pre-pharmacy work experiences in a pharmacy setting. Pharmacy students often take a course that requires them to learn basic drug information on the Top 200 Drugs dispensed in the United States.Objective: To examine the correlation between pre-pharmacy work experience and performance in a Top 200 Drugs course.Methods: Pre-pharmacy student data were collected from a questionnaire that students completed the summer before their entrance into pharmacy school. Student grades were collected from a Top 200 Drugs course. This course is taken during the first and second semesters of the first professional year in pharmacy school. Correlation analyses were used to evaluate the relationship between pre-pharmacy work experience and course grades in a Top 200 Drugs course.Results: Previous work experience is not a strong predictor of a student's grade in a Top 200 Drugs course. A significant correlation, however, was found between little or no pre-pharmacy work experience and receiving lower grades in a Top 200 Drugs course (α = 0.01, r = 0.284, t = 5.23). The lowest grades in the course were correlated to students who have little to no pre-pharmacy work experience.Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that students who received the lowest final grades in the Top 200 Drugs course had little to no pre-pharmacy work experience.Correlation of pre-pharmacy work experience in a pharmacy setting with performance in a top 200 drugs courseJoy B. Greene, Donald S. Nuzum, Eric G. Boyce10.1016/j.cptl.2010.04.005Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning 2, 3 (2010)2010-07-01Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning2010-07-0123S1877-1297(10)X0004-1Original articles180185http://www.pharmacyteaching.com/article/PIIS187712971000050X/abstract?rss=yesAbstract: Objective: Challenges faced by academia are no longer shaped by information accessibility but rather, and perhaps surprisingly so, by availability. A case in point is the lack of information on pharmacy education in Lebanon. In an attempt to salvage the status of pharmacy education in Lebanon on the national, regional, and international educational maps, the present work highlights the legacy of pharmacy education in Lebanon, mainly in the context of educational institutions, programs, and curricula.Methods: This manuscript tackles pharmacy education in Lebanon as it relates to three educational systems—French, Lebanese, and American—that were pioneered by Saint-Joseph University (USJ), the Lebanese University (LU), and the Lebanese American University (LAU), respectively.Results: Although the three systems follow similar pharmacy curricula, they differ greatly in terms of the weight they place on each of the major areas of focus (i.e., general requirements, basic/biomedical sciences, pharmaceutical sciences, clinical sciences, and pharmacy practice experiences).Conclusions: The success of pharmacy education in Lebanon is attributed not only to the diverse academic systems/curricula but also to sociocultural perceptions (i.e., status and knowledge), organizational jurisprudence and licensure (i.e., Lebanese Order of Pharmacists and Lebanese Board Examination), and international recognition (i.e., Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education–accredited LAU and French government–affiliated USJ). These factors have initiated a surge of students toward pharmacy education with the positive momentum Lebanese universities have long awaited for.Pharmacy education in LebanonVictor Khachan, Yolande B. Saab, Farid Sadik10.1016/j.cptl.2010.04.003Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning 2, 3 (2010)2010-07-01Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning2010-07-0123S1877-1297(10)X0004-1Original articles186191http://www.pharmacyteaching.com/article/PIIS1877129710000602/abstract?rss=yesTable of contents10.1016/S1877-1297(10)00060-2Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning 2, 3 (2010)2010-07-01Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning2010-07-0123S1877-1297(10)X0004-1FrontmatterA1A1