Effect of a curriculum transformation on pharmacy student self-efficacy, self-reported activities, and satisfaction in degree and career choice.

BACKGROUND: Curriculum revision in healthcare programs occurs frequently, but to undergo a whole degree transformation is less common. Also, the outcomes of curriculum redesign interventions on the selfreported clinical decision making, experiences, and perceptions of graduates of health education programs is unclear. This study evaluated these factors as an outcome of a pharmacy degree whole-curriculum transformation. METHODS: A 25-item cross-sectional end-of-course survey was developed to evaluate pharmacy student decisions, experiences, and perceptions upon completion of degree, pre- and post- curriculum transformation. A two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to determine whether the responses to the items classed within the main factors differed across the two cohorts. Independent t-tests were used to examine the student responses to the individual questions between the two cohorts. RESULTS: Graduates from the transformed degree had greater self-efficacy in clinical activities, were more satisfied with their education, found course activities more useful, and were more confident in their career choice. Transformed pharmacy degree students also reported spending more time on weekdays and weekends on activities such as attending lectures and working. Student satisfaction with their choice to attend pharmacy school was also significantly higher in transformed degree students. CONCLUSIONS: Responses to the end of degree survey indicate that students who completed the transformed pharmacy curriculum have had positive experiences throughout their degree and felt more prepared for practice as pharmacists in comparison to students who completed the established degree. These results add value to those collected from other sources (e.g., student evaluations, assessment scores, preceptors focus groups, and other stakeholder inputs) consistent with a comprehensive quality improvement model.

A Pilot Australian Pharmacist Health Coaching Trial of Participants with Poorly Controlled Hypertension: A Qualitative Study of Participants' and Coaches' Experiences.

OBJECTIVE: An exploratory qualitative study was conducted to explore how stakeholders - participants and coaches experienced, and made sense of, being involved in coaching for people with poorly controlled hypertension. METHODS: Two pharmacists provided monthly health coaching sessions to twenty participants for three-months. Qualitative semi-structured interviews of participants were carried out by pharmacist coaches at baseline, one month, and at three months post-study completion. The pharmacist health coaches were also interviewed. Participant and pharmacist audio-recorded interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed thematically. RESULTS: Twenty participants with poorly controlled hypertension received health coaching. Analysis of the transcripts from participant interviews indicated the emergence of three main themes "beliefs about and management of hypertension", "reflection on health goals" and "understanding of and experiences from health coaching". Only one theme emerged from the pharmacist interviews: "logistics of health coaching in pharmacy". CONCLUSION: Analysis of interviews showed that participants experienced a variety of positive health changes. Changes included a better understanding of health coaching, more realistic beliefs about hypertension, and improved management of hypertension and health goals. Participants were also positive about their experiences of coaching. Interviews with the pharmacists revealed factors such as planning, teamwork, and time management which are related to the implementation and provision of health coaching in community pharmacy practice which could be overcome through consideration and planning.