Exploring the use of ChatGPT to analyze student course evaluation comments.

BACKGROUND: Since the release of ChatGPT, numerous positive applications for this artificial intelligence (AI) tool in higher education have emerged. Faculty can reduce workload by implementing the use of AI. While course evaluations are a common tool used across higher education, the process of identifying useful information from multiple open-ended comments is often time consuming. The purpose of this study was to explore the use of ChatGPT in analyzing course evaluation comments, including the time required to generate themes and the level of agreement between instructor-identified and AI-identified themes. METHODS: Course instructors independently analyzed open-ended student course evaluation comments. Five prompts were provided to guide the coding process. Instructors were asked to note the time required to complete the analysis, the general process they used, and how they felt during their analysis. Student comments were also analyzed through two independent Open-AI ChatGPT user accounts. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the themes generated by instructors and ChatGPT. Percent agreement between the instructor and ChatGPT themes were calculated for each prompt, along with an overall agreement statistic between the instructor and two ChatGPT themes. RESULTS: There was high agreement between the instructor and ChatGPT results. The highest agreement was for course-related topics (range 0.71-0.82) and lowest agreement was for weaknesses of the course (range 0.53-0.81). For all prompts except themes related to student experience, the two ChatGPT accounts demonstrated higher agreement with one another than with the instructors. On average, instructors took 27.50 ± 15.00 min to analyze their data (range 20-50). The ChatGPT users took 10.50 ± 1.00 min (range 10-12) and 12.50 ± 2.89 min (range 10-15) to analyze the data. In relation to reviewing and analyzing their own open-ended course evaluations, instructors reported feeling anxiety prior to the process, satisfaction during the process, and frustration related to findings. CONCLUSIONS: This study offers valuable insights into the potential of ChatGPT as a tool for analyzing open-ended student course evaluation comments in health professions education. However, it is crucial to ensure ChatGPT is used as a tool to assist with the analysis and to avoid relying solely on its outputs for conclusions.

Interrogating Consequential Validity Evidence in NAPLEX Studies Involving the Use of Demographic Variables.

OBJECTIVE: to review the purpose, methods, and discussion of student demographics related to North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination (NAPLEX) performance; demographic characteristics, significant findings, and related text were extracted from each reviewed article as evidence of consequential validity. FINDINGS: Nine articles met the inclusion criteria. Prior degree attainment (n = 8, 88.9%), age (n = 6, 66.7%), race/ethnicity (n = 6, 66.7%), and sex (n = 5, 55.6%) were the most common demographic variables included. One study found that prior degree attainment was negatively related to NAPLEX performance and no studies using this variable discussed their findings. Three studies found significant relationships between age and NAPLEX performance, attributing differences to older students for "unique psychosocial challenges and competing responsibilities" "greater maturity" and being more "professional." Measures of race/ethnicity differed in every study, with 3 reporting significant findings and 2 discussing their findings. Studies referenced literature suggesting that "minority groups" tended to score lower on standardized examinations while others referenced literature that suggests "standardized testing may not be predictive of the performance of minority students." Sex was not related to NAPLEX performance nor was it discussed in any studies. SUMMARY: Consequential validity evidence is a critical yet underreported aspect of NAPLEX evaluation in pharmacy education. How demographic variables are selected, utilized, and discussed warrants further exploration and consideration by educators, scholars, and practitioners as these decisions can have important sociocultural and political implications.

Understanding pathways to health-system pharmacy administration: A journey mapping study.

PURPOSE: Pharmacy administrators play a critical role in the success of health systems, yet pathways to pharmacy administration are incompletely understood. The purpose of this study was to explore and describe pathways to becoming a health-system pharmacy administrator, including challenges experienced and resources needed. METHODS: Participants (N = 21) individually completed one or more journey maps detailing the pathway(s) to pharmacy administration and then engaged in small group discussion to identify common themes. A large group debrief was used to share and identify findings across small groups. Thematic analysis was utilized to identify common ideas shared. RESULTS: There was variation across the maps, illustrating many steps one might follow to become a pharmacy administrator. In the 23 maps completed, pathways most frequently began with pharmacy school (n = 9, 39.1%), high school (n = 6, 26.1%), or undergraduate training (n = 4, 17.4%). Most included residency training or dual master's of science in health-system pharmacy administration/residency training (n = 16, 69.6%). Common challenges included distractions, time constraints, grades/performance, financial constraints, and stress. Common resources needed included exposure to diverse career paths, pipeline and outreach support, mentoring, and leadership. Themes included debate about the definition of a pharmacy administrator, questions regarding the core competencies of the pharmacy administrator, discussion regarding ways to enter pharmacy administration, and reflection on the role of serendipity and networking. CONCLUSION: Understanding the pathways to pharmacy administration is critical to fostering a sustainable and competent workforce. Work must be done to identify strategies and develop processes for identifying, equipping, and retaining talented health-system pharmacy administrators and leaders.

Exploring user experience (UX) research methods in health professions education.

OUR ISSUE: Researchers often design interventions or experiences to meet the needs of a specific user. However, the user's perspective is often excluded in the process, which can minimize effectiveness due to a lack of understanding about the user, their perspective, and/or their needs. User experience (UX) research methods offer an opportunity to capture additional information about the user that can inform the design of these solutions. METHODOLOGICAL LITERATURE REVIEW: UX research became prominent during the 1990s to describe the complexity of human interactions with technological solutions. UX research methods emerged in other disciplines as strategies for describing user perspectives, needs, challenges, and potential impact of proposed solutions-these may be useful in health professions education research. OUR RECOMMENDATIONS AND THEIR APPLICATIONS: Those interested in UX research methods should define the user, establish focused research questions, and select applicable strategies cognizant of time and resource constraints. UX research often requires a clear outline of research activities, how they address the questions, and techniques to engage representative users for data collection. Researchers can optimize data collection by creating inclusive spaces that emphasize active listening. Researchers should compile insights regularly and remember UX research emphasizes an iterative approach to design. POTENTIAL IMPACT: UX research can support deeper insights into users, their perspectives, their needs, and offers opportunities to co-construct solutions with their experiences in mind. These methods may help educators design impactful experiences that better achieve targeted outcomes in collaboration with their users (e.g., learners, faculty, teams).

Automated Analysis of Preceptor Comments: A Pilot Study Using Sentiment Analysis to Identify Potential Student Issues in Experiential Education.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this paper is to describe a sentiment analysis program that aids in identifying pharmacy students at risk for progression issues by automatically scoring preceptor comments as positive or negative. METHODS: An R-based program to analyze advanced pharmacy practice experiences and introductory pharmacy practice experiences midpoint evaluation of preceptor comments was piloted in phase 1 by comparing the sentiment analysis algorithm results to human coding. The algorithm was refined in phase 2. In phase 3, the validation phase, the final sentiment analysis algorithm analyzed all midpoint student evaluations (n = 1560). Sentiment scores were generated for each preceptor comment, and correlations were performed between sentiment scores and the quantitative scoring provided on the assessment. RESULTS: In phase 1, agreement between faculty coders and sentiment analysis was 96%, and in phase 2, agreement between the final codes and sentiment analysis was 92.4% once keywords were added to the sentiment dictionary. In phase 3, a total of 3919 comments from 1560 evaluations were analyzed, and overall, the sentiment analysis results aligned with the quantitative data. CONCLUSION: This sentiment analysis algorithm was accurate in capturing positive and negative comments corresponding to pharmacy student performance. Given the accuracy of this preliminary validation for flagging preceptor comments, there are numerous implications when considering the use of sentiment analysis in pharmacy education. Using a sentiment analysis program minimizes the number of qualitative preceptor comments needing review by experiential faculty, as this program can aid in identifying students at risk of progression issues.

Faculty Process for Reviewing and Utilizing a School's Course Evaluation Comments.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore faculty engagement with qualitative comments from course evaluations. METHODS: Course faculty from the University of North Carolina Eshelman School of Pharmacy were recruited via email to participate in a 30-minute interview session. Previous course evaluation comments were adapted to create a de-identified mock evaluation. Six interviews were conducted via Zoom, consisting of a think-aloud protocol based on the mock course evaluation followed by a cognitive interview focused on goals and current utilization of comments, and common patterns and issues sought by faculty. Interview transcripts were manually cleaned and de-identified. Transcripts were inductively coded by 1 researcher using MAXQDA. RESULTS: Three overarching themes were identified: general faculty process for reviewing comments (ie, how faculty perceive and analyze comments), comments utilization for course change (ie, how faculty utilize comments in making course changes), and faculty analysis strategy (ie, faculty approach to locating common patterns in evaluation comments). The most common subthemes included usefulness of comments, methods for tracking comment patterns, and challenges with the large number of comments each semester. CONCLUSION: Faculty provided useful insight and feedback regarding the current state of the course evaluation process that can be used to improve the structure, organization, and utilization of course evaluations by faculty. These findings could inform the creation of the course evaluation comment automated analysis program in the next stage of an ongoing project.

Validity evidence for a virtual multiple mini interview at a pharmacy program.

BACKGROUND: Numerous health professions schools have transitioned to virtual admissions interviews in recent years. While some research suggests that virtual multiple mini-interviews (vMMIs) are feasible, acceptable, and more affordable, there is a paucity of research concerning the validity of this approach. The purpose of this study was to examine the validity and reliability of vMMIs and explore differences in performance between vMMI and in-person MMIs. METHODS: Data were collected for two years of in-person MMIs and two years of vMMIs at a pharmacy program/school in the United States. An exploratory factor analysis (principal components analysis) with varimax rotation and Kaiser rule (i.e. retaining factors with eigenvalue > 1.0) was used to explore the construct validity of the vMMI data. Pearson correlation was used to examine correlations between vMMI stations and Cronbach alpha was used to determine the internal consistency of each station. Independent t-tests were used to examine differences between in-person MMI and vMMI scores. Cohen's d was used to determine effect sizes. RESULTS: Four hundred and thirty-eight (42.69%) candidates completed an in-person MMI and 588 (57.31%) completed a vMMI. Factor analysis indicated that each vMMI station formed a single factor with loads ranging from 0.86 to 0.96. The vMMI stations accounted for most of the total variance, demonstrated weak to negligible intercorrelations, and high internal consistency. Significant differences between in-person and vMMI scores were found for the teamwork-giving, teamwork-receiving, and integrity stations. Medium effect sizes were found for teamwork-giving and teamwork-receiving and a small effect size was found for integrity. CONCLUSIONS: Initial evidence suggests that the vMMI is a valid and reliable alternative to in-person MMIs. Additional research is needed to examine sources of differences in rating patterns between the two approaches and identify strategies that align with institutional priorities for recruitment and admissions.

Methodological Challenges in Studies of Personal and Professional Identity Formation.

Demographic information about the identities of faculty, staff, students, and trainees is frequently collected in pharmacy education. A wide range of identities and characteristics can influence the choices and experiences of students as they progress through curricula and develop their professional goals. Understanding personal and professional identity formation within dynamic and complex environments is critical to promoting the success of pharmacy education and practice. Emerging research efforts highlight the importance of considering identity development from varying perspectives, and offer new methods for collecting and analyzing data. The objective of this commentary is to reflect on the methodological challenges of identity formation research in pharmacy education and offer recommendations for those interested in this work.

An Exploration of the Relationship Between Pharmacy School Admission Variables and PGY1 Pharmacy Residency Program Match.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the relationship between pharmacy school admission variables and matching to a postgraduate year 1 (PGY1) pharmacy residency program. METHODS: Demographic data, academic indicators, and application review scores were collected for the 2017-2020 Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) graduating classes. Multiple mini-interview (MMI) scores were collected for the 2018-2020 PharmD graduating classes. Postgraduate year 1 matching data were collected for all students. Bivariate analyses were performed comparing students who matched to a PGY1 residency versus those who did not match versus those who did not pursue a residency. Logistic regression modeling was performed to explore predictors of matching to a PGY1 residency program. RESULTS: A total of 616 students were included. Bivariate analyses revealed that students who matched to a PGY1 had a higher undergraduate grade point average, higher pharmacy college admissions test composite score, were younger in age, and were more likely to identify as female. Students who matched also scored higher on MMI stations with constructs related to integrity, adaptability, critical thinking, and why pursuing our school. Logistic regression modeling found that an increase in age was associated with lower odds of matching to a PGY1 (0.88 [0.78-0.99]) and an increase in composite MMI station score was associated with higher odds of matching (1.8 [1.31-2.47]). CONCLUSION: Several pharmacy school admission variables were found to be associated with successful matching to a PGY1 residency. These findings have the potential for impact at a programmatic level when evaluating the weight of certain criteria for admission decisions and at the individual student level when providing career services support.

Exploring Cultural Intelligence Validity and Teaching Self Efficacy in Pharmacy Faculty.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the construct validity of cultural intelligence (CI) and evaluate faculty self-efficacy in developing cultural intelligence in Doctor of Pharmacy students. METHODS: A survey was developed based on a CI framework for pharmacy education consisting of four domains. Survey items were measured on a scale from 1-cannot do at all to 10-highly certain can do. Survey responses from faculty in the Doctor of Pharmacy program who completed ≥90% of the survey items were included. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted using principal components analysis with a varimax rotation and the Kaiser rule. Internal consistency reliability of each cultural intelligence construct was examined using Cronbach's alpha (α). RESULTS: Fifty-four Doctor of Pharmacy faculty members (83% response rate) completed the survey. The exploratory factor analysis revealed three CI constructs: (1) cultural awareness (α = 0.93), (2) cultural practice (α = 0.96), and (3) cultural desire (α = 0.89). Participants rated their CI teaching self-efficacy highest for cultural awareness (6.13 (1.93)), and lowest for cultural desire (3.90 (2.87)). CONCLUSION: Faculty play a critical role in the development of students; understanding CI teaching self-efficacy can inform faculty development strategies and curriculum improvements. Additional research is needed to identify related evidence-based methods for faculty development strategies utilizing the identified patterns and constructs.

Pedagogical Tools and Strategies for Developing Cultural Intelligence in Pharmacy Students and Educators.

OBJECTIVE: To review evidence-based pedagogical tools and strategies used to support the development of cultural intelligence in pharmacy education. FINDINGS: An exhaustive list of search terms was included to capture the variety of terms for "cultural intelligence" (eg, cultural competence). The search was not limited to any publication year range. Search engines included PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, Scopus, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, ERIC, and PsycInfo. A total of 639 articles were identified after removing duplicates. Eighty-two articles were included for full review after screening. Year of publication ranged from 2004 - 2021. Two articles (2.4%) described tools for educator development, whereas the rest (n = 80, 97.6%) focused on student development. Examples of tools reported included lectures and workshops. Twenty-seven articles (32.9%) described pedagogical tools for fostering cultural intelligence concurrently with interprofessional development; the remaining articles (n = 55, 67.0%) focused only on pharmacy. Thirty-two articles (39.0%) used quantitative analysis methods, and 13 articles (15.9%) used qualitative analysis methods. Sixty-four articles (78.0%) included outcomes of perceptions, 6 (7.3%) included outcomes of participation, and 33 (40.2%) included outcomes of performance. Although not every study addressed all 4 cultural intelligence framework domains (awareness, knowledge, practice, and desire), each domain was apparent within the included articles. SUMMARY: Various pedagogical tools have been used to develop cultural intelligence in pharmacy students with some tools used more than others. Findings suggest that integrating various pedagogical methods throughout the curriculum aligns more closely with the dynamic nature of learning and continuous self-refinement required to develop cultural intelligence.

Distribution of Female and Male First and Last Authorship across Drug Delivery Related Journals with Respect to Year and Journal Impact Factor.

First and last authorship are important metrics of productivity and scholarly success for trainees and professors. For 11 drug delivery-related journals in 2021, the percentage of female first (39.5%) and last (25.7%) authorship was reported. A strong negative correlation, with female first (rp = -0.73) and female last authorship (rp = -0.66), was observed with respect to journal impact factor. In contrast, there was a strong positive correlation with male first and last authorship (rp = 0.71). Papers were ∼1.5 times more likely to have a male first author, and ∼3 times more likely to have a male last author, than females. A female was 22% more likely to have first authorship if the last author was female, although there is an ∼1% increase per year in female authorship with male last authorship, which equates to equality in first authorship by 2044. Considering that drug delivery is composed of engineering, chemistry, and pharmaceutical science disciplines, the observed 25.7% female last authorship does not represent the approximately 35.5% to 50% of professors that are female in these disciplines, internationally. Overall, female authorship in drug delivery-related journals should improve to better represent the work of female senior authors.

Investigating preceptor experiences with cultural intelligence in pharmacy education.

BACKGROUND: A culturally intelligent pharmacy workforce is critical for addressing health disparities and ensuring that healthcare teams are equipped to support the medication needs of patients. Despite the critical role of preceptors in developing aspiring pharmacists, little is known about how they create or manage cross-cultural situations for students. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to explore preceptor experiences teaching cultural intelligence within experiential pharmacy settings. METHODS: A convergent parallel mixed methods approach was used with a 10-item survey measuring preceptor teaching self-efficacy (measured from 0-cannot do at all to 10-highly certain can do) and interviews/focus groups to further understand cultural intelligence teaching experiences. Data were analyzed according to the 4 domains of the cultural intelligence framework (i.e., cultural awareness, cultural knowledge, cultural practice, and cultural desire). Survey data were analyzed descriptively and qualitative data were analyzed deductively. RESULTS: Participants (n = 24) were most confident Discussing factors underlying health and healthcare disparities (e.g., access, socioeconomic status, environment, racial/ethnic) (7.54 ± 2.04) and least confident in Understanding the importance of cultural desire in teaching students to be culturally intelligent healthcare practitioners (5.21 ± 2.72). All four cultural intelligence domains were identified in the qualitative data (n = 315 codes), with preceptors providing evidence of cultural awareness (n = 38, 12.1%), cultural knowledge (n = 54, 17.1%), cultural practice (n = 183 codes, 58.1%), and cultural desire (n = 40, 12.7%). Preceptors described various pedagogical strategies, such as case discussions, reflection, and simulation. CONCLUSIONS: Participants provided insight into pedagogical strategies for cultural intelligence that could promote student learning in experiential settings and help explicate curricular gaps. Further research regarding applicability of the cultural intelligence framework is needed, including application of these strategies and opportunities for preceptor development.

Processes and perceptions of chemotherapy supply chain in Ethiopia: A mixed-method study.

BACKGROUND: The impact and downstream effects of the chemotherapy supply chain in Ethiopia are not well understood. The purpose of this study was to identify perceived gaps in supply chain and characterize their impact on patient care. METHODS: A concurrent mixed-method study was conducted at a large academic cancer center in Ethiopia. In-depth interviews (IDIs) and surveys were completed in collaboration with external stakeholders with knowledge about chemotherapy supply chain in Ethiopia. Thematic coding was used for qualitative analysis of IDI and descriptive statistics were used to summarize quantitative survey data. RESULTS: Six stakeholders participated in the IDIs and seven completed surveys. IDIs revealed that most chemotherapeutic agents are purchased by the Ethiopian Pharmaceutical Supply Agency (EPSA) and are distributed to cancer treatment centers. A free-market purchasing option also exists, but for chemotherapy obtained outside of government-subsidized channels, the potential for substandard or falsified chemotherapy was a concern. Participants expressed confidence that the correct treatment was administered to patients, but viewpoints on reliability and consistency of medication supply were variable. Quantitative data from the survey showed that participants were not confident that medications are prepared safely and correctly. Improper storage and manipulation of high-risk medications remain a significant risk to staff. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides insight from a healthcare staff perspective on how gaps in the chemotherapy supply chain process impact patient care in a low-income country. Inventory management, disruptions in supply chain, and product integrity were perceived as the largest gaps in the current chemotherapy supply chain structure.

Key Business of Health Care Topics and Strategies to Implement Within Doctor of Pharmacy Curricula.

Objective. To explore pharmacist alumni perspectives on what topics and how the business of health care should be incorporated into pharmacy school training.Methods. An exploratory sequential mixed-methods design was used. Focus groups were conducted to elicit pharmacist alumni perspectives about business of health care topics and strategies for student learning and curricular implementation. Purposive sampling was used to identify alumni participants who could provide substantive feedback aligned with the needs of this evaluation. Ten alumni attended one of three focus groups over a two-month period. Thematic coding was used to identify themes. Results from the focus groups were used to inform survey development distributed to alumni of the pharmacy school. Survey data were analyzed using descriptive statistics.Results. Findings from the focus groups and survey indicated that the business topics most important for students to learn were communication strategies, health care operations, the health care payer system, managing teams, and career options within pharmacy. Focus group participants recommended a variety of activities to help students learn and apply business topics and emphasized that simulations and real-world experiences were needed to help students learn these topics and assess their understanding. Instructors should be currently or recently employed in the business sector to provide credibility. Barriers to implementation occur at both the student and curricula level.Conclusion. The possession of business skills and knowledge play a critical role in helping the pharmacy profession advance within a dynamic health care environment. Recommendations were provided on key business content important for Doctor of Pharmacy students to learn and strategies to implement within a pharmacy program.

The Relationship Between a Multiple Mini-interview and Situational Judgment Test for Admissions.

Objective. To explore the relationship between a multiple mini-interview (MMI) and situational judgment test (SJT) designed to evaluate nonacademic constructs.Methods. A 30-question ranked-item SJT was developed to test three constructs also measured by MMIs during a pharmacy school's admissions process. First-year pharmacy students were invited to complete the SJT in fall 2020. One hundred four students took the SJT (82.5% response rate), with 97 (77% of possible participants) having MMI scores from the admissions process. Descriptive statistics and other statistical analyses were used to explore the psychometric properties of the SJT and its relationship to MMI scores.Results. Seventy-four percent of students identified as female (n=72), and 11.3% identified with an underrepresented racial identity (n=11). The average age, in mean (SD), was 21.8 (2.1) years. Students' mean (SD) scores were 85.5 (3.1) (out of 100 points) on the SJT and 6.1 (1.0) (out of 10 points) on the MMI. Principal components analysis indicated that the SJT lacked construct validity and internal reliability. However, reliability of the entire SJT instrument provided support for using the total SJT score for analysis (α=.63). Correlations between total SJT and MMI scores were weak (r p<0.29).Conclusion. Results of this study suggest that an SJT may not be a good replacement for the MMI to measure distinct constructs during the admissions process. However, the SJT may provide useful supplemental information during admissions or as part of formative feedback once students are enrolled in a program.

Developing evidence-based resources for evaluating postgraduate trainees in the biomedical sciences.

Postgraduate trainees elevate the academic strength of institutions by conducting research, promoting innovation, securing grant funding, training undergraduate students, and building alliances. Rigorous and systematic program evaluation can help ensure that postgraduate training programs are achieving the program's intended outcomes. The purpose of this project was to develop evidence-based evaluation tools that could be shared across federally funded biomedical training programs to enhance program evaluation capacity. This manuscript describes the evidence-based process used to determine program evaluation needs of these programs at a research-intensive university. Using a multi-phased sequential exploratory mixed methods approach, data were collected from trainees, employers, leaders, and program directors. Data analyses included document analysis of program plans, inductive coding of focus groups and interviews, and descriptive analysis of surveys. Two overarching categories-Trainee Skills and Program Characteristics-were identified including six themes each. Program directors prioritized communication, social and behavioral skills, and collaboration as the trainee skills that they needed the most help evaluating. Furthermore, program directors prioritized the following program characteristics as those that they needed the most help evaluating: training environment, trainee outcomes, and opportunities offered. Surveys, interview scripts, and related resources for the categories and themes were developed and curated on a publicly available website for program directors to use in their program evaluations.

An introduction to text analytics for educators.

OUR SITUATION: Educators often find themselves in possession of large amounts of text-based materials, such as student reflections, narrative feedback, and assignments. While these materials can provide critical insight into topics of interest, they also require a substantial amount of time to read, interpret, and use. The purpose of this article is to describe and provide recommendations for text analytics. METHODOLOGICAL LITERATURE REVIEW: An overview of text analytics is provided, including a brief history, common types of contemporary techniques, and the basic phases of text analytics. Several examples of common text analytics techniques are used to illustrate this approach. OUR RECOMMENDATIONS AND THEIR APPLICATIONS: Practical recommendations are provided to support the use of text analytics in pharmacy education. These recommendations include: (1) clarify the purpose of the text analytics; (2) ensure the research questions are relevant and grounded in the literature; (3) develop a processing strategy and create a dictionary; (4) explore various tools for analysis and visualization; (5) establish tolerance for error; (6) train, calibrate, and validate the analytic strategy; and (7) collaborate and equip yourself. POTENTIAL IMPACT: Text analytics provide a systematic approach to generating information from text-based materials. Several benefits to this approach are apparent, such as improving the efficiency of analyzing text and elucidating new knowledge. Despite recent developments in text analytics techniques, limitations to this approach remain. Efforts to improve usability and accessibility of text analytics remain ongoing, and pharmacy educators should position their work within the context of these limitations.

Increasing access to the profession: Admissions lessons learned from the pandemic.

INTRODUCTION: The disruptions induced by the COVID-19 pandemic have forced quick and significant changes to recruitment and admissions practices in colleges of pharmacy. This process has helped to identify barriers and challenges for prospective students. At the University of North Carolina Eshelman School of Pharmacy, some changes were already under consideration prior to the pandemic, such as moving to test-optional admissions and allowing remote interviews, while new considerations included offering the entire recruitment and admissions process remotely. METHODS: In 2020-2021, the decision was made to move to test-optional admissions. A separate decision was made to conduct interviews remotely. Data from the admission cycle were collected from the Pharmacy College Application Service as part of the standard admissions process and exported for analysis. Descriptive statistics (mean ±â€¯SD) were used. RESULTS: Completed applications increased by 59.1% in 2020-2021 from the previous year. Applications increased by 9.8% from underrepresented students, by 6.2% from those with a bachelor's degree, and by 8.4% by out of state students. Other admissions metrics, such as the mean grade point average (3.50) and mean Pharmacy College Admissions Test composite percentile (88%), did not change. CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 pandemic experience validated our perspective that we must continue to embrace change and seize opportunities to reduce barriers for prospective students to improve access to the profession. The changes that this pandemic has necessitated may help to close the gaps in accessing health professions education.

Implementation and evaluation of pharmaly houses as learning communities to promote community, wellness, and advising.

INTRODUCTION: Although medical education has demonstrated learning communities promote wellness and community while supporting advising and mentoring, its application in pharmacy is limited. This study explored faculty and student perceptions of pharmacy learning communities (PLC), including structure, member interactions, and curriculum topics. METHODS: PLCs involving first-year (PY1) student advisees, third-year (PY3) peer mentors, and faculty coaches were implemented. The PLC model included Pharmaly Houses, which were compromised of multiple Pharmalies, with each Pharmaly consisting of one faculty coach, two PY3 peer mentors, and approximately 10 PY1 advisees. PLC members were invited to participate in semi-structured focus groups, and transcripts were analyzed using inductive coding. RESULTS: Three major themes and related subthemes emerged: strengths of the PLC structure (e.g., multiple perspectives, community, networking); interactions of Pharmaly members (i.e. faculty coaches, PY3 peer mentors, PY1 advisees); and feedback on PLC curriculum topics (e.g., topic consultation, continued learning). Participants indicated the multiple perspectives provided by Pharmaly members was a strength and highlighted the PLC structure facilitated a sense of community and belonging among Pharmaly members while promoting expanded networking within the House. While the PLC expanded networks, faculty and PY1 advisees desired more one-to-one interactions. Further, students reflected on how current PLC curriculum topics (e.g., wellness) prompted continued learning, reflection, and discussion outside the House or Pharmaly meeting. CONCLUSIONS: Participants indicated PLCs can support student access to mentoring and advising, promote wellness, and foster a sense of community and belonging. The unique peer mentoring model further promoted community.