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Safwan J, Akel M, Sacre H, Haddad C, Sakr F, Hajj A, Zeenny RM, Iskandar K, Salameh P. Academic pharmacist competencies in ordinary and emergency situations: content validation and pilot description in Lebanese academia. BMC MEDICAL EDUCATION 2023; 23:737. [PMID: 37803447 PMCID: PMC10559412 DOI: 10.1186/s12909-023-04712-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2023] [Accepted: 09/21/2023] [Indexed: 10/08/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND In the absence of a similar study in the Lebanese context, this study aimed to validate the content of the specialized competencies frameworks of academic pharmacists (educators, researchers, and clinical preceptors) and pilot their use for practice assessment in the context of multiple severe crises. METHODS A web-based cross-sectional study was conducted between March and September 2022 among academic pharmacists enrolled by snowball sampling using a questionnaire created on Google Forms. RESULTS The suggested frameworks had appropriate content to assess the competencies of academic pharmacists. Educators and clinical preceptors were confident in all their competencies except for emergency preparedness. Researchers had varying levels of confidence, ranging from moderate to high confidence for many competencies, but gaps were reported in fundamental research, conducting clinical trials, and pharmacy practice research (mean < 80). Educators and researchers relied primarily on experience and postgraduate studies, while clinical preceptors emphasized undergraduate studies to acquire their respective competencies. Continuing education sessions/programs were the least cited as a competency-acquiring venue across all roles. CONCLUSION This study could develop and validate the content of frameworks for specialized competencies of academic pharmacists, including educators, researchers, and clinical preceptors, in a challenging setting. The frameworks were also piloted for practice assessment, which could contribute to supporting effective performance and sustained development of practitioners and help link the skills and competencies pharmacists learn during their studies with those required for a career in academia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jihan Safwan
- School of Pharmacy, Lebanese International University, Beirut, Lebanon.
- INSPECT-LB (Institut National de Santé Publique, d'Épidémiologie Clinique Et de Toxicologie-Liban), Beirut, Lebanon.
| | - Marwan Akel
- INSPECT-LB (Institut National de Santé Publique, d'Épidémiologie Clinique Et de Toxicologie-Liban), Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Hala Sacre
- INSPECT-LB (Institut National de Santé Publique, d'Épidémiologie Clinique Et de Toxicologie-Liban), Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Chadia Haddad
- INSPECT-LB (Institut National de Santé Publique, d'Épidémiologie Clinique Et de Toxicologie-Liban), Beirut, Lebanon
- School of Medicine, Lebanese American University, Byblos, Lebanon
- School of Health Sciences, Modern University of Business and Science, Beirut, Lebanon
- Research Department, Psychiatric Hospital of the Cross, Jal El Dib, Lebanon
| | - Fouad Sakr
- School of Pharmacy, Lebanese International University, Beirut, Lebanon
- INSPECT-LB (Institut National de Santé Publique, d'Épidémiologie Clinique Et de Toxicologie-Liban), Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Aline Hajj
- INSPECT-LB (Institut National de Santé Publique, d'Épidémiologie Clinique Et de Toxicologie-Liban), Beirut, Lebanon
- Faculté de Pharmacie, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
- Oncology Division, CHU de Québec Université Laval Research Center, Québec, Canada
| | - Rony M Zeenny
- INSPECT-LB (Institut National de Santé Publique, d'Épidémiologie Clinique Et de Toxicologie-Liban), Beirut, Lebanon
- Department of Pharmacy, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Katia Iskandar
- School of Pharmacy, Lebanese International University, Beirut, Lebanon
- INSPECT-LB (Institut National de Santé Publique, d'Épidémiologie Clinique Et de Toxicologie-Liban), Beirut, Lebanon
- Epidemiology and Biostatistics Department, Faculty of Public Health II, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Pascale Salameh
- INSPECT-LB (Institut National de Santé Publique, d'Épidémiologie Clinique Et de Toxicologie-Liban), Beirut, Lebanon
- School of Medicine, Lebanese American University, Byblos, Lebanon
- Faculty of Pharmacy, Lebanese University, Hadat, Lebanon
- University of Nicosia Medical School, Nicosia, Cyprus
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Tirgar A, Sajjadi SA, Aghalari Z. The status of international collaborations in compilation of Iranian scientific articles on environmental health engineering. Global Health 2019; 15:17. [PMID: 30813953 PMCID: PMC6391782 DOI: 10.1186/s12992-019-0460-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2019] [Accepted: 02/19/2019] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Scientific cooperation is one of the effective methods to access current knowledge and technologies and also to use successful experiences of researchers in developed countries by academicians living in developing countries. This study aimed to determine the level of international contribution in compilation of scientific articles in Iranian journals published in the field of environmental health engineering. METHODS This descriptive and retrospective study was conducted within a 10-year period (2008-2017), in which all articles published in five specialized Iranian journals of environmental health engineering were reviewed using a researcher-made checklist. The information collected in the checklist included: the year of publication, number of issues and articles, information about the status of authors' participation in terms of number of authors, sex, institutional affiliation, country, continents, and research centers. Descriptive and inferential statistics such as index of dispersion, measures of central tendency, and Chi-square and t tests were used to statistically analyze the data. Besides, VOSviewer software was used to visualize the data. RESULTS The review of 1276 articles published in 102 issues of the five journals of environmental health engineering in Iran showed that 184 articles were written with the participation of researchers from other countries. Most articles with the participation of international authors during the last decade were published in 2014. Chi-square test indicated a significant difference in the publication of these articles within 2014-2015 than other years (P = 0.001). Among the five journals, the best participation of international researchers was observed in J Environ Health Sci Engineer (168 articles, 91.3%). Considering the number of joint articles with Iran, the top continents were Asia, Europe, and Africa each with 117, 52, and 32 articles, respectively. India, Turkey, and Malaysia had the highest level of cooperation with Iranian researchers with 53, 16, and 14 articles, respectively. 637 authors contributed in 184 articles, of whom 469 (73.6%) were male and 121 (18.9%) were female. T test was used to compare the mean number of male and female authors in the articles with or without the participation of international researchers, which showed no significant difference. CONCLUSION International contribution of researchers in compilation of specialized environmental health articles was good. Given the low level of cooperation between researchers from developed European and American countries and their Iranian counterparts, it seems necessary to adopt different methods to attract more collaboration from researchers working in developed countries considering their significant role in health-related areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aram Tirgar
- Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Health Research Institute, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran
| | - Seyed Ali Sajjadi
- Environment Health Engineering Department & Social Determinants of Health Research Centre, Gonabad University of Medical Sciences, Gonabad, Iran
| | - Zahra Aghalari
- Environmental Health Engineering, Faculty of Health, Gonabad University of Medical Sciences, Gonabad, Iran
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Petersen SL, Erenrich ES, Levine DL, Vigoreaux J, Gile K. Multi-institutional study of GRE scores as predictors of STEM PhD degree completion: GRE gets a low mark. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0206570. [PMID: 30372469 PMCID: PMC6205626 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0206570] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2018] [Accepted: 10/16/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The process of selecting students likely to complete science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) doctoral programs has not changed greatly over the last few decades and still relies heavily on Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores in most U.S. universities. It has been long debated whether the GRE is an appropriate selection tool and whether overreliance on GRE scores may compromise admission of students historically underrepresented in STEM. Despite many concerns about the test, there are few studies examining the efficacy of the GRE in predicting PhD completion and even fewer examining this question in STEM fields. For the present study, we took advantage of a long-lived collaboration among institutions in the Northeast Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (NEAGEP) to gather comparable data on GRE scores and PhD completion for 1805 U.S./Permanent Resident STEM doctoral students in four state flagship institutions. We found that GRE Verbal (GRE V) and GRE Quantitative (GRE Q) scores were similar for women who completed STEM PhD degrees and those who left programs. Remarkably, GRE scores were significantly higher for men who left than counterparts who completed STEM PhD degrees. In fact, men in the lower quartiles of GRE V or Q scores finished degrees more often than those in the highest quartile. This pattern held for each of the four institutions in the study and for the cohort of male engineering students across institutions. GRE scores also failed to predict time to degree or to identify students who would leave during the first year of their programs. Our results suggests that GRE scores are not an effective tool for identifying students who will be successful in completing STEM doctoral programs. Considering the high cost of attrition from PhD programs and its impact on future leadership for the U.S. STEM workforce, we suggest that it is time to develop more effective and inclusive admissions strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandra L. Petersen
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Evelyn S. Erenrich
- School of Graduate Studies, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey, United States of America
| | - Dovev L. Levine
- Graduate School, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire, United States of America
| | - Jim Vigoreaux
- Department of Biology and Office of the Provost, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont, United States of America
| | - Krista Gile
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts, United States of America
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Green BN, Johnson CD. Interprofessional collaboration in research, education, and clinical practice: working together for a better future. THE JOURNAL OF CHIROPRACTIC EDUCATION 2015; 29:1-10. [PMID: 25594446 PMCID: PMC4360764 DOI: 10.7899/jce-14-36] [Citation(s) in RCA: 175] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2014] [Accepted: 12/09/2014] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
Interprofessional collaboration occurs when 2 or more professions work together to achieve common goals and is often used as a means for solving a variety of problems and complex issues. The benefits of collaboration allow participants to achieve together more than they can individually, serve larger groups of people, and grow on individual and organizational levels. This editorial provides an overview of interprofessional collaboration in the areas of clinical practice, education, and research; discusses barriers to collaboration; and suggests potential means to overcome them.
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