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DESCRIPTION OF PROBLEM: The increased interest in residency programs nationwide has made the application process more competitive and complex. STATEMENT OF INNOVATION: In 2015, Wake Forest Baptist Health (WFBH) created a resident-led residency preparatory series (RPS) to assist advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) students in preparing for residency applications. This study sought to evaluate the perceived value of the resident-led RPS by fourth year APPE students. INNOVATION: This single-center, survey-based, descriptive study aimed to evaluate the perceived impact of a resident-led RPS. All APPE students during the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 academic years who completed rotations in the Triad region of North Carolina were invited to participate in the RPS. Surveys were sent to eligible students and data was captured for respondents who indicated an interest in pursuing residency and attendance to at least one RPS. Survey questions evaluated satisfaction with the RPS. Survey data was collected and analyzed using Qualtrics©. CRITICAL ANALYSIS: A total of 84 students were invited to attend the RPS. Thirty-three respondents participated in the RPS and indicated an interest in applying for a residency. The resident-led RPS was consistently well received by the majority of students over the course of two years, with over two-thirds of all respondents finding every session extremely or very useful. The majority of students agreed or strongly agreed with all confidence statements. CONCLUSION: A resident-led RPS resulted in positive student perceptions and increased confidence in the residency application process.
RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Hypertensive urgency (HU), defined as acute severe uncontrolled hypertension without end-organ damage, is a common condition. Despite its association with long-term morbidity and mortality, guidance regarding immediate management is sparse. Our objective was to summarize the evidence examining the effects of antihypertensive medications to treat. METHODS: We searched the PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE), Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and Embase through May 2016. STUDY SELECTION: We evaluated prospective controlled clinical trials, case-control studies, and cohort studies of HU in emergency room (ER) or clinic settings. We initially identified 11,223 published articles. We reviewed 10,748 titles and abstracts and identified 538 eligible articles. We assessed the full text for eligibility and included 31 articles written in English that were clinical trials or cohort studies and provided blood pressure data within 48 h of treatment. Studies were appraised for risk of bias using components recommended by the Cochrane Collaboration. The main outcome measured was blood pressure change with antihypertensive medications. Since studies were too diverse both clinically and methodologically to combine in a meta-analysis, tabular data and a narrative synthesis of studies are presented. RESULTS: We identified only 20 double-blind randomized controlled trials and 12 cohort studies, with 262 participants in prospective controlled trials. However, we could not pool the results of studies. In addition, comorbidities and their potential contribution to long-term treatment of these subjects were not adequately addressed in any of the reviewed studies. CONCLUSIONS: Longitudinal studies are still needed to determine how best to lower blood pressure in patients with HU. Longer-term management of individuals who have experienced HU continues to be an area requiring further study, especially as applicable to care from the generalist.
