Utilizing a podcast to supplement common medication learning.

INTRODUCTION: Podcasts are a popular way to learn and engage at the convenience of the listener. Education is incorporating podcasts to supplement and reinforce students learning inside and outside the classroom. METHODS: The authors created a podcast covering the Top 200 commonly prescribed medications. This was to help students recall and reinforce medication knowledge they typically must learn on their own. RESULTS: Student performance on post-tests improved (p = 0.0011) compared to pre-tests with an effect size r of 0.39 (0.37, 0.32, and 0.42 for P1, P2 and P3 respectively). Students reported the content was easy to follow, and they enjoyed learning from other students. The total number of plays for the podcast as of 19 July 2023 were 882. Each episode had a range of one to 89 number of plays. DISCUSSION: The podcast was well received by students, and drug knowledge increased. While the podcasts were shorter in time, they still provided the foundational information for a first-year pharmacy student to know. Overall, podcasts provide another way to help students retain and reinforce material learned inside and outside the classroom.

The impact of failure on faculty development.

INTRODUCTION: Failure is an inevitable outcome in life. Even though this is a commonly accepted fact, the environment in academic pharmacy has stigmatized failure. This stigmatization potentially stunts faculty development if inappropriate coping strategies evolve and skills such as creativity and problem solving do not flourish. COMMENTARY: There is an opportunity for pharmacy academia, especially faculty, to assume a new lens when examining failure. The authors will examine the impact of failure on active learning and scholarship. IMPLICATION: Despite the many challenges and apprehensions that surround the concept of failure, it is important that academia reframes failure. This new perspective can positively view failure as a progressive mechanism by creating novel solutions to challenges in academia and demonstrating to pharmacy students that failure is something to embrace as a learning tool.

Reflection on the development of a patient case in twine.

PURPOSE: With technology becoming an essential component in classrooms, it is becoming more crucial for pharmacy faculty to explore innovative active learning strategies that engage students inside and outside the classroom. This manuscript discusses how two fourth-year students and their preceptor developed interactive patient cases using an open-source software application called Twine (www.twinery.org). DESCRIPTION: Two different cases were developed in Twine. The first patient case story was created by the fourth-year students and will be implemented in the future. The second patient case, consisting of two Twine stories, was created by the faculty preceptor and was implemented during new student orientation. ANALYSIS/INTERPRETATION: Resources for development as well as advantages and disadvantages of developing and implementing Twine stories into the curriculum are discussed. Implementation of the faculty's Twine stories into the pharmacy curriculum is also discussed. CONCLUSIONS: Twine is a user-friendly application and has the potential to be utilized in healthcare programs as an effective and engaging teaching strategy that both professor and students enjoy. IMPLICATIONS: While development of a Twine story could be time-consuming, the benefit of increasing student engagement outweighs the cost. Active learning is an essential component in the classroom, and finding new and innovative ways to enhance student learning is imperative.

When the student becomes the teacher: Discovering individual teaching style.

PURPOSE: Insight will be given on the transition from student to teacher along with discovering individual teaching style by utilizing an adaptation of Gibb's model. DESCRIPTION: The author will describe her experiences and reflect on her six-week academia advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE). Additionally, the author will incorporate literature explaining different styles and methods of teaching and how she utilized these to develop her own individual teaching. ANALYSIS/INTERPRETATION: The author will share her feelings, evaluation, and analysis on the transformation from student to teacher. She will describe her delivery and feedback of two lectures to first-year pharmacy students and faculty of West Coast University School of Pharmacy. The activities helped her to learn, grow, and prosper into the teacher that she has wanted to become. CONCLUSIONS: One of the most important discoveries for students on their academia rotation is their teaching style and the importance of using that style to inspire, motivate, and ignite creativity and learning in students. It is crucial to stay true to that teaching style that makes the individual unique. IMPLICATIONS: Readers will comprehend the metamorphosis of student to teacher and how an academia APPE promotes growth and self-discovery. Personal reflections and takeaways from these experiences will be discussed. Applying knowledge and self-discovery from an academia APPE related to teaching style will help future students receive the best education possible.

Inclusion of Socioeconomic Status as an Additional Criterion in Holistic Pharmacy School Admission Processes.

Objective. To investigate the impact of socioeconomic status as an admissions criterion for pharmacy school admissions. Methods. Using de-identified data from two PharmCAS application cycles (2012-2013 and 2015-2016), a new socio-economic status indicator was crafted based on complex parental education and occupation information provided by applicants. The indicator was calibrated on federal standards to ensure uniform composition regardless of the applicant's location. The indicator was then used to describe acceptance patterns within each pharmacy application cycle, explore correlations with other demographic and academic indicators, and develop a regression model to understand the impact of this indicator on applicants' acceptance into pharmacy school. Results. The new education and occupation (EO) indicator for an applicant's parent(s) provided new insight into complex applicant demographic information. The number of academically qualified applicants that could have received further admission consideration based on identification of a low socioeconomic status for parent one were 2016; n=435, 13%, 2103; n=767, 14%. The EO indicator by itself had limited value for predicting acceptance rates and became less predictive when academic performance variables were incorporated, demonstrating socioeconomic status was not accounted for in admissions. Conclusion. Based on the Accreditation Council of Pharmacy Education Standards 2016, schools are required to admit a diverse group of students. The addition of the EO indicator will be valuable in identifying diverse and promising future pharmacists during each pharmacy school's holistic review process.

Report of the 2016-2017 Student Affairs Standing Committee.

The 2016-2017 AACP Student Affairs Standing Committee addressed charges related to recruitment to the profession of pharmacy and a national awareness campaign for pharmacy careers, as well as promotion of student wellness and stress management. The Committee report provides six recommendations to the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) and one proposed policy statement for the AACP House of Delegates related to recruitment to the pharmacy profession. The Committee report also provides three recommendations to AACP and one proposed policy statement for the AACP House of Delegates related to student wellness and stress management. In addition, this report provides recommendations for future AACP Student Affairs Standing Committee work.