Identifying Shared Values for School-Affiliated Student Organizations

Professional Pharmacy Fraternities as a Mechanism for Co-Curricular Learning: A Qualitative Analysis of Two Organizations

OBJECTIVE

Professional pharmacy fraternal organizations are among the most common student organizations in schools and colleges of pharmacy, present on 98% of campuses. However, sparse literature explores the educational value these organizations offer. The purpose of this review is to explore the alignment of national requirements of two major pharmacy fraternities with co-curricular learning objectives.

METHODS

All four fraternal pharmacy organizations recognized by the Professional Fraternal Association were invited to collaborate on this project. Ultimately, two fraternities participated by gathering national office requirements for reports and activities for collegiate chapters. Qualitative review of fraternity requirements was conducted via manifest content analysis by two independent reviewers, and items were coded to the relevant co-curricular domain(s) from the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education Standards 2016; disagreements were resolved by a third author.

RESULTS

A total of 50 fraternity requirements were identified and mapped to one or more co-curricular domains, for a total of 63 codings. All six co-curricular domains were coded at least once. The most common codings were professionalism and leadership. Significant overlap existed in requirements that encompassed professionalism plus cultural sensitivity, professionalism plus self-awareness, and self-awareness plus leadership. Some activities benefited the school or community, while others solely contributed to individual member professional development.

CONCLUSION

Professional pharmacy fraternities provide ample co-curricular learning opportunities among the breadth of affective domains. The mission and vision of these organizations foster affective domain skill development in both school- and community-facing events as well as dedicated individual professional development.

Activating the American Association of Colleges of Nursing Essentials Through Competency-Based Leadership in Graduate Student Organizations

BACKGROUND

As nursing programs across the nation shift toward a competency-based education model, academic institutions are working to quantify student learning outcomes based on the new American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN, 2021) Essentials, domains, competencies, and sub-competencies.

METHOD

Leveraging AACN Essentials, faculty and graduate nursing students engage in student organizations with the focus of Population Health, Professionalism, and Personal, Professional and Leadership Development (AACN, 2021).

RESULTS

Graduate student members are involved in practicum activities throughout the course of their education. Through collaboration with faculty, the student body, and other community partners, student leaders integrate experiences applicable to professional roles outside of academia (AACN, 2021). As a result, students gain skills in leadership and communication, while also gaining confidence and professional identity formation.

CONCLUSION

Other academic institutions may replicate this approach in promoting competency-based education, experiences and development in alignment with the AACN Essentials. [J Nurs Educ. 2023;62(10):580-583.].

Pharmacy Technician Efficacies and Workforce Planning: A Consensus Building Study on Expanded Pharmacy Technician Roles

The expansion of pharmacy technician scope of practice in recent years, though remaining somewhat contentious, has afforded multiple opportunities for pharmacy technicians to provide additional assistance within the pharmacy. However, much of the research examining this growth has focused on specific tasks, which were determined by either the researchers themselves or the respective state boards of pharmacy. This study aimed to gain a better understanding of what expanded tasks pharmacists believe technicians should have an increased role in performing. A consensus-building research methodology was used to survey practicing pharmacists to determine which tasks those pharmacists believed technicians should take an increased role in performing. This study used modified Delphi techniques to build consensus among panels of both hospital and community pharmacists regarding 20 setting-specific technician tasks. Results of our study indicated that both hospital and community pharmacists believed technicians should have an increased involvement in performing tasks which are more related to the operations of the pharmacy rather than tasks which are more clinical in nature. This finding illustrates a belief among a segment of pharmacists that expanded roles for technicians should do more to alleviate the managerial and operational burden placed on pharmacists, potentially allowing pharmacists to take on increased clinical roles.

How to use the Delphi method to aid in decision making and build consensus in pharmacy education

OUR SITUATION

As pharmacy educators, we often encounter situations such as designing new curricula or establishing shared values for an organization that may be ambiguous or controversial. To generate effective solutions, it is often necessary to build group consensus with key stakeholders. The purpose of this paper is to describe and provide recommendations for using the Delphi method, a process for facilitating discussions and aiding in decision making.

METHODOLOGICAL LITERATURE REVIEW

An overview of the Delphi method, including its multiple variations, is presented. Steps necessary to complete a Delphi study (building a protocol, developing a research question, defining panelists and panel size, piloting the protocol, round one item creation and analysis, round two and beyond, consensus, increasing clarity, and reporting) is described.

OUR RECOMMENDATIONS AND THEIR APPLICATION(S)

Practical recommendations are provided to support use the Delphi method to build consensus in research. These recommendations include: (1) clarify the purpose of the Delphi, (2) ensure the research questions are grounded in the literature and are relevant, (3) carefully consider panelist processes, (4) determine any definitions that should be given to or developed by panelists, (5) determine methods for enhancing clarity, and (6) employ methods to reduce attrition.

POTENTIAL IMPACT

The Delphi method provides a systematic approach to generating consensus in pharmacy education for commonly encountered situations such as committee meetings, research studies, faculty retreats, classroom activities, and lab meetings.

Decision-making framework for an acute care clinical pharmacist productivity model: Part 1

Disclaimer

In an effort to expedite the publication of articles related to the COVID-19 pandemic, AJHP is posting these manuscripts online as soon as possible after acceptance. Accepted manuscripts have been peer-reviewed and copyedited, but are posted online before technical formatting and author proofing. These manuscripts are not the final version of record and will be replaced with the final article (formatted per AJHP style and proofed by the authors) at a later time.

Purpose

Clinical pharmacist productivity assessment has long been challenging, as a standard definition does not exist. A multistep project was undertaken with the intent to develop, validate, and implement an acute care clinical pharmacist productivity model. The initial step of the project was designed to identify, define, prioritize, and weight a comprehensive list of daily pharmacist responsibilities stratified by relative time spent on each function via consensus.

Methods

Delphi methodology applied by a panel of experts was used to identify a comprehensive list of acute care pharmacist responsibilities ranked in order of time intensity. Twenty-three acute care clinical pharmacists participated in the process. The consensus list was validated by time observation studies. Each responsibility was assigned a weight and corresponding work outputs by a consensus panel. Weighting of each responsibility was assigned according to the relative time intensity and complexity of each task.

Results

The results of the Delphi consensus process included the top 20 time-intensive responsibilities identified by the acute care clinical pharmacists. Timed observations of acute care clinical pharmacists yielded results similar to those of the consensus process. Selection of corresponding work outputs and weights for each responsibility provided the final requirements for the productivity model.

Conclusion

The development of an acute care clinical pharmacist productivity model first requires the selection of appropriate work outputs and weighting. The consensus process provided a newly identified comprehensive list of pharmacist responsibilities that will serve as the foundation of the clinical productivity model. Validated consensus methodology can be useful for engaging clinical pharmacists in decision-making and the development of a clinical productivity model.

The Contribution of the Humanities and Social Sciences to Pharmacy Education: Literature Review and Perspectives

Background: Healthcare systems worldwide adapt to patients’ needs and expectations, following social evolutions. Pharmaceutical practice has shifted towards activities such as therapeutic education. Such new missions require to prioritize human and social sciences, which now play a predominant role in training. Objective: This work consists of assessing the contribution of human and social sciences to the field of pharmacy, with a twofold focus on practice and training. Method: A literature review was carried out according to the PRISMA guidelines focusing on the last 10 years. Selected full texts were read and analyzed to elicit the contribution of human and social sciences to pharmacy. Results: Overall 36 articles were included. Three specific topics were identified during an inductive process of full text analysis: public health policy, patient care, and interprofessional collaboration. Conclusions: Although human and social sciences are essential to the evolution of the pharmacist profession, their impact on health care costs remains difficult to evaluate. Moreover, teaching human and social sciences can prove difficult to standardize. Such approaches must be supported and organized by governments and universities with a view of upscaling practices.

Exploring the Future of Graduate Education in Pharmaceutical Fields

To ensure graduate students remain at the forefront of healthcare, curricula must be aligned with current and emerging innovations likely to influence students' ability to be successful. In this study, a modified Delphi technique was utilized to determine and prioritize the innovations and professional skills needed. For innovations, the top three areas experts identified were (1) personalized medicine, (2) big data, and (3) cell and gene therapy. For professional skills, the top three areas were (1) creative problem solving, (2) communication, and (3) data literacy. These results can be used to inform graduate curriculum development within various pharmaceutical fields.

A Systematic Review of Leadership Definitions, Competencies, and Assessment Methods in Pharmacy Education

Objective. To characterize leadership definitions, competencies, and assessment methods used in pharmacy education, based on a systematic review of the literature. Findings. After undergoing title, abstract, and full-text review, 44 (10%) of 441 articles identified in the initial search were included in this report. Leadership or an aspect of leadership was defined in 37 (84%) articles, and specific leadership competencies were listed or described in 40 (91%) articles. The most common definitions of leadership involved motivating others toward the achievement of a specific goal and leading organizational change. Definitions of leadership in some articles required that individuals hold a formal leadership position whereas others did not. Only two leadership competencies were related to specific areas of knowledge. Most of the competencies identified were interpersonal and self-management skills. In terms of assessment, only one (2.3%) article assessed leadership effectiveness, and none assessed leadership development. Of the remaining 24 (55%) articles that included some type of assessment, most involved behavioral-based tools assessing individual attributes conceptually related to leadership (eg, strengths, emotional intelligence), or self-assessments regarding whether learning objectives in a leadership course had been met. Summary. Definitions for leadership in pharmacy varied considerably, as did leadership competencies. Most conceptualizations of leadership resembled a combination of established approaches rather than being grounded in a specific theory. If leadership development is to remain a focus within accreditation standards for Doctor of Pharmacy education, a consistent framework for operationalizing it is needed.