The Impact of Leadership Program Formatting on Perceived Development Within Pharmacy Cohorts

Exploring Pharmacy Students' Leadership Styles Using the 5 Voices Assessment

OBJECTIVE

Leadership development assessments are a critical component of student pharmacists' understanding and development of effective team strategies.

METHODS

The 5 Voices tool, developed by GiANT Worldwide, was incorporated into the leadership curriculum across 2 colleges of pharmacies for second-year Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) students. One public land-grant institution administers the assessment in the fall semester during a 2-h class session as part of a leadership elective leadership course and a private liberal arts institution distributes the 5 Voices assessment to all students during a 1-h spring semester required course.

RESULTS

Responses from 456 PharmD students were included in the analysis, with 159 (34.9%) and 297 (65.1%) coming from the University of Minnesota and Drake University, respectively. Overall, 49.1% of PharmD students had nurturer as their foundational (first) voice. No differences were found in the distribution of first voices between institutions. The PharmD data are higher than the nurturer population-level average (43%).

CONCLUSION

Introducing students to the 5 Voices assessment provides an opportunity for them to gain a better understanding of what they can contribute to a team. In addition, because nurturer is a dominant voice, this understanding can help provide appreciation for other voices necessary for team development.

Evaluating Pharmacy Students' Teamwork Attitudes in Virtual COVID-19 Emergency Department Simulations: A Pilot Study

OBJECTIVE

This study explores the impact of virtual simulation training on the transformation of teamwork attitudes among pharmacy students in a simulated severe COVID-19 pneumonia scenario in the emergency department.

METHODS

From July 2022 to January 2023, 16 pharmacy students, along with other health care students, participated in interprofessional simulation rounds. Each pharmacy student was assigned specific days for participation, using either a 3-dimensional computer or a virtual reality headset to manage a patient with severe COVID-19 pneumonia in the virtual emergency department. The TeamSTEPPS Teamwork Attitudes Questionnaire (T-TAQ) was used for pre- and post-training assessments.

RESULTS

The mean baseline T-TAQ score was 119.44 ± 10.63, showing a significant post-training improvement to a mean score of 130.88 ± 8.98 (Hedges' g = 1.52). Stratification by academic year and device type revealed no significant impact on the learning experience. Remarkable enhancements in teamwork attitudes were observed after training, specifically in team structure, situation monitoring, mutual support, and communication domains.

CONCLUSION

These findings indicate that virtual simulation training in scenarios such as severe COVID-19 effectively augments teamwork attitudes among pharmacy students, preparing them for collaborative practice in high-stakes emergency medicine settings.

An Exploratory Qualitative Study of Student Pharmacist Perspectives on Leadership

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of this study were to (1) explore student pharmacists' knowledge and perceptions of leadership characteristics and behaviors, and (2) identify where students have opportunities to observe and exhibit leadership.

METHODS

Data were collected from 32 students participating in a pharmacy leadership elective. Students submitted reflections about leadership definitions, characteristics, observations of leadership, and times when they felt like a leader. An inductive constant comparative analysis was used to code and categorize text segments from the reflections using NVivo 1.7.1 (Lumivero; Denver, CO). Holistic consideration of the reflections was used to identify an overarching theme.

RESULTS

Three categories were specified to organize the data from the qualitative analysis: (1) Leader Characteristics, (2) Leading Behaviors, and (3) Leadership Contexts. One overarching theme was proposed encompassing the categories and sub-categories: Leadership Contradictions. The theme is based on the finding that students seemed able to identify leadership characteristics but emphasized descriptions like holding titles and completing managerial or task-focused duties, suggesting contradictions between conceptual understanding of leadership and leadership behaviors.

CONCLUSION

The contradictions between students' conceptual understanding of leadership and what they offered as examples of how and where leadership was observed or applied to practice suggest additional activities and experiences may be warranted to help students appreciate that leadership extends beyond formal roles and demonstrates the ability to influence and support the achievement of shared goals of a team. Additionally, a multi-modal approach may enhance leadership assessment.

Validation of the specialized competency framework for pharmacists in hospital settings (SCF-PHS): a cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to validate the content of the specialized competency frameworks for pharmacists working in hospital settings (hospital and clinical pharmacists) and pilot the frameworks for practice assessment.

METHODS

This online cross-sectional study was carried out between March and October 2022 among a sample of 96 Lebanese pharmacists working in hospital settings. The frameworks were distributed to full-time hospital and clinical pharmacists, who filled them out according to their role in the hospital.

RESULTS

Overall, the competencies were distributed over five domains for hospital pharmacists (fundamental skills, safe and rational use of medicines, patient-centered care, professional skills, and preparedness for emergencies), while for clinical pharmacists, competencies were distributed over seven domains (quality improvement, clinical knowledge and skills, soft skills, ability to conduct clinical research, ability to provide effective education, use information technology to make decisions and reduce errors, and emergency preparedness). Moreover, Cronbach alpha values were appropriate, indicating sufficient to high internal consistency. Pharmacists were highly confident in most competencies, with some exceptions related to research in emergency settings (data evaluation, research, and reporting).

CONCLUSIONS

This study could validate competency frameworks for clinical and hospital pharmacists, with the competencies and their respective behaviors showing an adequate construct analysis. It also identified the domains that require further development, i.e., soft skills and research in emergency settings. Both these domains are timely and needed to overcome the current practice challenges in Lebanon.