Use of the Well-Being Index to identify pharmacy residents in distress.

OBJECTIVE(S): Identify current pharmacy residents' level of distress, likelihood of burnout, likelihood of severe fatigue, suicidal ideation, meaning in work, satisfaction with work-life balance, and overall quality of life. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey, conducted between February 1, 2020 and March 31, 2020. The pharmacist Well-Being Index (WBI) was used to collect data from first- and second-year pharmacy resident participants. A survey was sent to each residency program director (RPD) listed in the American Society of Health-System Pharmacist directory. RPDs were asked to forward the e-mail with information on the survey for the residents to complete. The e-mail contained a description of the research project and a link to the research survey. Respondents were asked to complete questions regarding their demographics in the research survey, including age, gender, ethnicity, marital status, commute time, type of residency, year of residency, etc. They were then asked to complete the WBI through the provided link and asked to enter their results from the WBI into the survey. RESULTS: Pharmacy residents are at high risk for developing burnout; 53% of the participants were considered to be high risk. Approximately 43% of the pharmacy residents were considered to have a moderate to high risk for developing severe fatigue, and 57% had poor work-life integration scores. Participants were found to have a high quality of life and high meaning in their work, 46% and 62%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The study identified that pharmacy residents who experienced great levels of distress were more likely to experience symptoms of burnout and more likely to experience fatigue. Pharmacy residents also experienced a high quality of life and high meaning in their work.

Correction: Documenting Social Media Engagement as Scholarship: A New Model for Assessing Academic Accomplishment for the Health Professions.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.2196/25070.].

Documenting Social Media Engagement as Scholarship: A New Model for Assessing Academic Accomplishment for the Health Professions.

BACKGROUND: The traditional model of promotion and tenure in the health professions relies heavily on formal scholarship through teaching, research, and service. Institutions consider how much weight to give activities in each of these areas and determine a threshold for advancement. With the emergence of social media, scholars can engage wider audiences in creative ways and have a broader impact. Conventional metrics like the h-index do not account for social media impact. Social media engagement is poorly represented in most curricula vitae (CV) and therefore is undervalued in promotion and tenure reviews. OBJECTIVE: The objective was to develop crowdsourced guidelines for documenting social media scholarship. These guidelines aimed to provide a structure for documenting a scholar's general impact on social media, as well as methods of documenting individual social media contributions exemplifying innovation, education, mentorship, advocacy, and dissemination. METHODS: To create unifying guidelines, we created a crowdsourced process that capitalized on the strengths of social media and generated a case example of successful use of the medium for academic collaboration. The primary author created a draft of the guidelines and then sought input from users on Twitter via a publicly accessible Google Document. There was no limitation on who could provide input and the work was done in a democratic, collaborative fashion. Contributors edited the draft over a period of 1 week (September 12-18, 2020). The primary and secondary authors then revised the draft to make it more concise. The guidelines and manuscript were then distributed to the contributors for edits and adopted by the group. All contributors were given the opportunity to serve as coauthors on the publication and were told upfront that authorship would depend on whether they were able to document the ways in which they met the 4 International Committee of Medical Journal Editors authorship criteria. RESULTS: We developed 2 sets of guidelines: Guidelines for Listing All Social Media Scholarship Under Public Scholarship (in Research/Scholarship Section of CV) and Guidelines for Listing Social Media Scholarship Under Research, Teaching, and Service Sections of CV. Institutions can choose which set fits their existing CV format. CONCLUSIONS: With more uniformity, scholars can better represent the full scope and impact of their work. These guidelines are not intended to dictate how individual institutions should weigh social media contributions within promotion and tenure cases. Instead, by providing an initial set of guidelines, we hope to provide scholars and their institutions with a common format and language to document social media scholarship.

Evaluation of a journal club preparatory session on student confidence for a graded journal club.

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this project was to describe and assess the impact of a journal club preparatory session on advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) student confidence pre- and post-graded journal club. METHODS: A two-hour journal club preparatory session was implemented for APPE students on rotation with two clinical faculty members. The pre-assessment instructional activity was conducted the first week of each rotation; faculty members took turns working through a randomized-controlled clinical trial, highlighting and discussing key points based on their backgrounds and training. In week three, each student completed a graded journal club assignment that required a written critique and verbal presentation. Student confidence was evaluated pre-and post-activities; the pre-survey was completed prior to the journal club preparatory session and the post-survey was completed in week six. RESULTS: Thirty-two APPE rotation students participated in journal club activities, with 26 students providing complete data (81% response rate). Mean scores on confidence across all 11 items improved on the post-survey and were statistically significant (p < 0.05). There were no statistically significant differences on change in confidence based on gender, age, with or without an acute care rotation, and with or without previous journal club experience. CONCLUSION: A journal club preparatory session that walks students through a process prior to a graded activity helps to increase student self-reported confidence.

Implementation and evaluation of a women's reproductive health pharmacy elective.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: To create, implement and evaluate an elective course for pharmacy students focusing on women's reproductive health topics. EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY AND SETTING: A course was developed that included lectures discussing contraception, infertility, preconception care, pregnancy, and postpartum health. Active learning provided in the forms of journal article review and review of drug information resources for medication use in pregnancy were utilized. Workshops provided hands-on experiences with prescription contraceptives and over-the-counter fertility products. Knowledge and skills were assessed with in-class quizzes, journal article presentations, class participation, patient cases, and a final exam. A 46-item survey was administered to students pre- and post-course to assess self-perceived knowledge and confidence in women's reproductive health. FINDINGS: A total of 33 students were enrolled in the course. The response rate for the pre-course survey was 100% (n = 33) and for the post-course survey was 91% (n = 30). Students' confidence in counseling on women's reproductive health topics significantly increased after the course (mean scores 2.62 pre-course and 3.75 post-course, p < 0.0001). Similar results were seen in students' self-perceptions of their overall knowledge in women's health (mean scores 2.63 pre-course and 3.92 post-course, p < 0.0001). Preferred methods of learning included product workshops, and journal club presentations were the least preferred learning method. DISCUSSION AND SUMMARY: A women's reproductive health course was well received by students and increased their self-perceived knowledge and confidence in the areas of prescription contraceptives and over-the-counter fertility products.

Accuracy of community-based blood pressure devices versus validated self-use devices.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the accuracy of a community-based blood pressure monitor (CBPM) versus a validated automatic blood pressure monitor (ABPM); to assess providers' recommendations regarding use of CBPMs; and to assess if potentially inaccurate blood pressure readings may result in treatment changes. METHODS: A convenience sample of 50 participants was recruited and met criteria for a randomized, controlled, crossover design trial in a community pharmacy in January and February 2013. Participants completed a screening survey and were educated about how a pharmacist can assist in achieving blood pressure control. Blood pressure measurements were performed using a CBPM and a validated ABPM. Participants were asked to identify their primary care provider (PCP); if identified, the PCP was faxed a survey to complete. The difference in blood pressure readings between the two monitors was examined and PCP survey responses were examined. RESULTS: There were significant differences between the means obtained from the two different monitors for systolic blood pressure (P = 0.006) and diastolic blood pressure (P = 0.012) measurements. Due to differences between readings, recommendations for change in treatment (or initiation of blood pressure medication) may have been different for 38% of participants. PCPs indicated that they often recommend CBPMs for self-monitoring. CONCLUSION: Patients, pharmacists, and providers should be aware of potential inaccuracies when using a CBPM for self-monitoring.

Compounding practices and beliefs of Arizona pharmacists.

Only a few studies have attempted to evaluate various aspects of pharmacy compounding such as the compounding practices and beliefs of pharmacists. Although these studies have reported valuable information, there remains a need to thoroughly assess this professional practice. The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of pharmacy compounding within Arizona, the reasons for which Arizona pharmacists do not participate in compounding, and the beliefs of Arizona pharmacists regarding contemporary compounding issues. Pharmacists licensed and residing in Arizona were mailed a postcard containing a brief description of the project and the URL to a 20-item online survey. Reminder postcards were mailed four weeks after the initial mailing, and the online survey was open to participants for two months. The usable response rate was 8.1% (412/5112). Respondents reported approximately 8.1% of all prescriptions and/or medication orders are compounded by a pharmacist with the most frequent aspect of compounding performed being reconstitution and/or flavoring of commercially available, nonsterile products. The most prevalent reason for not compounding was "not recieivng requests" (40%). "Preparation of alternate dosage forms" was the most beneficial aspect of compounding reported (93). The most cited educational method for teaching compounding was as "part of a required course with hands on experience" (76%) and 94% of respondents were taught by this method. Ninety-five percent of respondents agreed that compounding is an important part of the pharmacy profession. Overall, pharmacy compounding is fairly prevalent within Arizona and most respondents are supportive of compounding practices.