Planning a pharmacy-led medical mission trip, part 1: focus on medication acquisition.

Pharmacists can be involved in many functions of the medical mission team. Particularly, they can play a large role in formulary development, acquisition of medications, and organization of medications before and during the mission trip. Important factors for consideration in formulary development and logistical planning include the group's budget; importation laws and regulations of the country being visited; transportation and storage of medications and supplies; disease states anticipated; whether controlled substances will be included; whether medical or surgical procedures will be provided; age distribution and languages of the population to be treated; whether sample medications will be used; handling of unused medications and supplies after the trip; and considerations of the population's cultural beliefs. Various organizations are available to provide medications for medical mission efforts at little to no cost, and knowledge of these organizations will help to facilitate the process of medication acquisition. Additionally, pharmacists can provide insight regarding the logistical set-up and workflow considerations during the mission experience.

Pharmacy curriculum outcomes assessment for individual student assessment and curricular evaluation.

The Pharmacy Curriculum Outcomes Assessment (PCOA) is a standardized examination for assessing academic progress of pharmacy students. Although no other national benchmarking tool is available on a national level, the PCOA has not been adopted by all colleges and schools of pharmacy. Palm Beach Atlantic University (PBAU) compared 2008-2010 PCOA results of its P1, P2, and P3 students to their current grade point average (GPA) and to results of a national cohort. The reliability coefficient of PCOA was 0.91, 0.90, and 0.93 for the 3 years, respectively. PBAU results showed a positive correlation between GPA and PCOA scale score. A comparison of subtopic results helped to identify areas of strengths and weaknesses of the curriculum. PCOA provides useful comparative data that can facilitate individual student assessment as well as programmatic evaluation. There are no other standardized assessment tools available. Despite limitations, PCOA warrants consideration by colleges and schools of pharmacy. Expanded participation could enhance its utility as a meaningful benchmark.