AACP faculty affairs standing committee report of strategies for faculty self-advocacy and promotion.

OBJECTIVES: The 2020-2021 American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Faculty Affairs Standing Committee (FASC) was charged with identifying how faculty can self-advocate and promote themselves in a social influence context. FINDINGS: The FASC identified social influence and persuasion theories and strategies that can be used by faculty to initiate self-advocacy discussions and collaborations. Social influence and persuasion theories can provide a framework for research and scholarship or for beginning discussions regarding self-advocacy. SUMMARY: This FASC report describes the Committee charge, background information, and an overview of social influence theories and how these theories can be applied in academic pharmacy. The report concludes with a summary of issues for follow-up to the Committee's work.

Guidance for Qualitative Research Manuscripts in Pharmacy Education.

The goal of this Best Practice Review is to support researchers in successfully preparing and publishing qualitative research in pharmacy education. Standard practice from the literature and journals' guidance from related fields were reviewed, and recommendations and resources applicable to qualitative research in pharmacy education were compiled for researchers planning to conduct and publish qualitative research. This review provides recommendations, not requirements, for publication in the Journal and is intended to be a guide, especially for authors and reviewers relatively new to the field of qualitative research. Additionally, researchers planning to publish their qualitative research are advised to review available best practices and standards, such as the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research checklist and the Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research. Given the diverse methodology of qualitative research, it is important for authors to provide sufficient details and justifications of selected methods for transparency and to report collected results in a manner that allows reviewers and readers to adequately assess the validity of their study and the applicability of the findings.

Pharmacist, prescriber, and drug policy expert opinions on gabapentinoid misuse.

BACKGROUND: Gabapentinoids (gabapentin and pregabalin) are widely used in clinical practice, but recent evidence indicates that they carry an increased risk of misuse. As healthcare professionals (HCPs) and policymakers plan different strategies to promote harm reduction, it is important to understand different interested party viewpoints. OBJECTIVE: To explore prescriber, pharmacist, and drug policy expert (DPE) awareness, opinions, and experiences regarding gabapentinoid misuse. METHODS: A qualitative description study using individual semi-structured virtual interviews was conducted between February and April 2021. Participants included prescribers (physicians, physician assistants [PA], or nurse practitioners [NP]) and pharmacists practicing in outpatient, ambulatory, or community-based healthcare settings; individuals with relevant drug policy expertise were also included. Qualtrics (Provo, Utah) and Zoom (San Jose, California) were used to facilitate quantitative (for initial screening and participant characteristics) and qualitative (interview) data collection. Data were coded and organized into themes in NVivo (QSR International; Burlington, Massachusetts) using thematic analysis steps. RESULTS: A total of 43 individuals participated in this study, including 16 (37.2%) pharmacists, 13 (30.2%) physicians, seven (16.3%) NPs, four (9.3%) DPEs, two (4.7%) pharmacist/DPEs, and one (2.3%) PA. Results were organized along four themes: (1) challenges/opportunities in gabapentinoid use; (2) gabapentinoid misuse awareness; (3) solutions to gabapentinoid misuse and (4) contributing barriers in pain management. Participants invoked different opinions in their consideration of gabapentinoid misuse, including the desire for harm reduction, the limitations of the current healthcare and insurance system, the lack of options for pain and substance use disorder treatment, and the influence of patient expectations. CONCLUSIONS: Gabapentinoid misuse was commonly framed in comparative fashion to ongoing concerns with opioids, and proposed solutions often focused less on regulatory control and more toward patient and HCP education and an overhaul of the health system approach to substance use and healthcare overall.

Reliability and Validity Evidence for an Academic Gender Equity Questionnaire.

Objective. The majority of practicing pharmacists and student pharmacists are women. However, instruments to assess perceptions of gender equity within pharmacy academia are not available. The objective of this research was to describe the psychometric analysis of a questionnaire developed to assess gender equity by a Gender Equity Task Force and to report reliability and validity evidence.Methods. A questionnaire with 21 items addressing the teaching, research, service, advancement, mentoring, recruitment, and gender of college leaders was created. The survey was distributed via email in December 2020 to all social and administrative science section members of two professional associations. Rasch analysis was performed to evaluate the reliability and validity evidence for the questionnaire.Results. After reverse coding, all items met parameters for unidimensionality necessary for Rasch analysis. Once adjacent categories were merged to create a 3-point scale, the scale and items met parameters for appropriate functionality. Items were ordered hierarchically in order of difficulty. The modified instrument and scale can be treated as interval level data for future use.Conclusion. This analysis provides reliability and validity evidence supporting use of the gender equity questionnaire in the social and administrative academic pharmacy population if recommended edits such as the 3-point scale are used. Future research on gender equity can benefit from use of a psychometrically sound questionnaire for data collection.

Gender equity perceptions among social and administrative science faculty: A qualitative evaluation.

BACKGROUND: Anecdotal evidence suggests that gender inequity persists in academic pharmacy. To date, there are limited published data about the perception of gender inequity in academic pharmacy. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this project was to determine themes associated with gender inequity perceptions in social and administrative science faculty from 2 national pharmacy organizations. METHODS: A gender equity task force comprising 13 members from Social and Administrative Sciences (SAS) sections of the American Pharmacists Association and the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy was formed. The task force designed a semistructured interview guide comprising questions about demographics and core areas where inequities likely exist. When the survey invitation was sent to faculty members of the SAS sections via Qualtrics, faculty indicated whether they were willing to be interviewed. Interviews were conducted by 2 members of the task force via video conferencing application. The interviews were transcribed. Topic coding involving general categorization by theme followed by refinement to delineate subcategories was used. Coding was conducted independently by 3 coders followed by consensus when discrepancies were identified. RESULTS: A total of 21 faculty participated in the interviews. Respondents were primarily female (71%), were white (90%), had Doctor of Philosophy as their terminal degree (71%), and were in nontenure track positions (57%). Most respondents (90%) experienced gender inequity. A total of 52% reported experiencing gender inequity at all ranks from graduate student to full professor. Four major themes were identified: microaggression (57%), workload (86%), respect (76%), and opportunities (38%). Workload, respect, and opportunities included multiple subthemes. CONCLUSION: Faculty respondents perceive gender inequities in multiple areas of their work. Greater inequity perceptions were present in areas of workload and respect. The task force offers multiple recommendations to address these inequities.

Baseline Assessment of Systemic Racism Education in Pharmacy Curricula.

Objective. To determine, by survey, the inclusion of systemic racism education in US Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) curricula and identify barriers and facilitators to addressing this content.Methods. A survey was developed and distributed to curricular representatives at US colleges and schools of pharmacy. The survey assessed inclusion of systemic racism education in curricula, faculty involvement in teaching systemic racism content, barriers to adding systemic racism content in curricula, and future curricular plans. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics for institutional background information, curricular content, and barriers to inclusion. Relationships between the inclusion of systemic racism content at public versus private programs were examined, and associations between traditional and accelerated programs were assessed.Results. Fifty-eight colleges and schools of pharmacy provided usable responses. Of the respondents, 84% indicated that teaching systemic racism content and its impact on health and health care was a low priority. For 24% of respondents, systemic racism content was not currently included in their curriculum, while 34% indicated that systemic racism content was included in one or more courses or modules but was not a focus. Despite systemic racism content being offered in any didactic year, it was rarely included in experiential curricula. Top barriers to inclusion were lack of faculty knowledge and comfort with content and limited curricular space. No significant differences were found between program types.Conclusion. Based on the current level of systemic racism education and barriers to inclusion, faculty need training and resources to teach systemic racism concepts within pharmacy curricula. The inclusion of systemic racism concepts and guidance in the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education's Accreditation Standards could help to drive meaningful change and promote health equity.

Evaluation and Revision of the Kiersma-Chen Empathy Scale.

Objective. This study aimed to provide further validity evidence for the Kiersma-Chen Empathy Scale (KCES) by analyzing data collected from multiple administrations of the scale and conducting cognitive interviews of students in pharmacy and nursing programs to identify needed revisions.Methods. De-identified data from previous administrations of the KCES were used to evaluate the scale. Evidence of response process was enhanced through cognitive interviews with 20 pre-pharmacy and pharmacy students at Cedarville University. After survey revisions, the cognitive interview process was repeated with 10 University of Wyoming nursing students.Results. Based on psychometric data and cognitive interviews, the KCES was revised as follows: key components of cognitive and affective empathy were retained, scaling was changed to reflect necessity and empathy ability, negatively worded items were removed, and the single scale was converted into two parallel subscales.Conclusion. This study used data from thousands of geographically and professionally diverse samples. Based on potential problems identified in quantitative analyses, cognitive interviews with nursing and pharmacy students were conducted, and modifications to the KCES were made. Further psychometric validation is needed regarding the KCES-R.

Call to Integrate Content Related to Disabilities Into Contemporary Pharmacy Curricula.

The curricula of US schools and colleges of pharmacy provide students with only a cursory introduction to patients with disabilities, and this is usually achieved through didactic content. These brief introductions are considered helpful; however, pedagogical approaches do not provide comprehensive content for mastery of skills and strategies for delivering accessible healthcare services to patients with disabilities. Student pharmacists' need to obtain the requisite education, knowledge, and skills to provide effective healthcare to patients with disabilities. Accordingly, it is essential that schools and colleges of pharmacy prepare student pharmacists to be competent and confident in providing effective and accessible care to this underserved patient population.

Establishing Validity Evidence for Parallel Patient-Provider Empathy Scales to Drive Self-reflection.

Objective. Student pharmacists must cultivate self-awareness to ensure that they can assess their skill development and abilities, including affective domain skills such as empathy. External feedback can augment development, but validated assessments are needed for accuracy. Thus, the objectives of this study were to establish validity evidence for the revised version of the Kiersma-Chen Empathy Scale (KCES-R), compare student self-perceptions and simulated patient perceptions of student empathy using a parallel patient scale (KCES-PV), and evaluate student reflections on the encounter.Methods. Student pharmacists completed an assessment of their self-perceptions of empathy (KCES-R) before and after the patient encounter. Simulated patients completed the KCES-PV regarding the student pharmacists' empathy immediately after the encounter. Student pharmacists also watched their encounter videos and completed a self-reflection on their use of empathy. Responses were analyzed using statistical tests, whereas students' reflections were examined using thematic analysis.Results. Results showed that the KCES-R contains two factors with high internal consistency and can detect changes in empathy. Student pharmacists' self-perceptions of their empathy abilities appeared higher than when their empathy abilities were evaluated by simulated patients. Student pharmacists had a strong belief in the importance of expressing empathy during patient encounters and indicated a need for further development.Conclusion. This study provides validity evidence for the use of the KCES-R and presents a parallel scale that may be used by simulated patients. Validated parallel scales along with reflective practice could be a potential avenue to grow self-awareness and empathy by allowing students to receive feedback and then reflect on their perceived versus actual demonstration of the skill.

Student pharmacists' perspectives on training, readiness, and confidence to provide transition of care services.

INTRODUCTION: Previous research has shown that pharmacists can have an essential role in improving patient care transitions. However, the extent of student pharmacists' training, readiness, and confidence in ability to provide transitions of care (TOC) remains unclear. Our goal was to examine student pharmacist preparation, readiness, and confidence for engaging in TOC. METHODS: Second-year student pharmacists at two schools/colleges of pharmacy in the United States were asked questions about their training, readiness, and confidence for providing TOC services. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze data. RESULTS: In all, 113 (59 Western New England University [WNE] and 54 University of Wyoming [UWYO]) second-year pharmacy students received the survey request and 78 (50 WNE and 28 UWYO) completed the survey, resulting in an overall response rate of 69%. Participants reported that pharmacy coursework provided the highest level of preparedness to offer TOC services (37%), followed by introductory pharmacy practice experiences (31%). Most participants reported having the highest level of confidence for activities related to gathering patient medication histories during TOC (46.1%), and similarly, this category of activity showed the highest population of participants who indicated a positive level of readiness (41.3%). CONCLUSIONS: Applicable training and experiences with TOC increase the likelihood of greater confidence and readiness for student pharmacists to provide TOC at their future practice sites. These results provide a framework for additional quantitative research in TOC engagement among student pharmacists.

Evaluation of team communication in an interprofessional inpatient transition of care simulation.

Background: Interprofessional education (IPE) provides unique opportunities for students to better understand their roles, roles of other healthcare professionals, and prepare for teamwork for patient benefit. Interprofessional team education is recognized as a key element in the 2016 ACPE standards. Objective: Assess student self-perceived competence in four IPEC domains after an inpatient simulation activity. Methods: Pre/post-test design used the Interprofessional Education Collaborative Competency Survey. The activity included medical, nursing, social work, and pharmacy students working in healthcare teams to develop collaborative treatment plans for simulated patients with altered mental status. Results: Ninety-seven health profession students completed the activity, while 49 second-year (P2) student pharmacists participated in the study. All completed a pre-test and 47/49 (96%) completed a post-test. At pre-test, students ranked themselves highest in abilities to respect patient privacy (100% strongly agree) and acting with honesty and integrity in relationships (100% strongly agree). They reported lower ability in describing team development process. At post-test, significant increases were seen in managing ethical dilemmas (p < .002) and respect (p = .49), though decreases were seen in using appropriate or respectful language (p < .02). Conclusion: Significant differences in student perceptions of ethics and communication were observed after participation in a transition of care inpatient IPE simulation.

Using an OSCE to assess the potential for assistive technology to enhance communication between student pharmacists and simulated patients who are deaf/hard of hearing.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the usefulness of assistive technology in health care interactions between student pharmacists and simulated patients who are deaf/hard of hearing and to assess changes in confidence and comfort levels (among both groups) when using assistive technology. METHODS: Forty-nine second-year student pharmacists were enrolled in a pharmacy communication laboratory course and 8 undergraduate students were recruited during Fall 2019. The first communication laboratory interaction consisted of student pharmacists using their normal mode of communication with role-played patients who are deaf/hard of hearing to establish baseline measures; a pretest survey was administered to each participant at the conclusion of this 10-minute laboratory interaction. In the second laboratory interaction, student pharmacists used the app to assist in communicating with the simulated patients who are deaf/hard of hearing. Posttests were administered at the conclusion of this laboratory interaction. RESULTS: Most student pharmacists and simulated patients who are deaf/hard of hearing reported feeling able to effectively communicate their needs to the other individual in their dyad (pharmacist or patient) during their health care interactions. Using an iPad (Apple Inc) app to communicate significantly increased student pharmacist and simulated patient comfort with health care communication from preintervention to postintervention. CONCLUSION: The use of assistive technology in simulated communication laboratory interactions can enhance student pharmacist comfort in health care interactions with patients who are deaf/hard of hearing.

Motivational Interviewing to Increase Postdischarge Antibiotic Adherence in Older Adults with Pneumonia.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of a pharmacist-led, motivational interviewing on antibiotic adherence following discharge in older adults with pneumonia. SETTING: Inpatient medical wards in a large tertiary academic medical center. PRACTICE DESCRIPTION: Older adults diagnosed with pneumonia were enrolled from December 1, 2013, to August 1, 2014, at Yale-New Haven Hospital. PRACTICE INNOVATION: Motivational interviewing-a patient-centered method of communication-has gained recognition as a tool that can aid pharmacists in addressing negative health behaviors (e.g., medication adherence, health screenings, substance abuse during counseling sessions). However, the potential role of motivational interviewing in older adults to improve medication adherence during transitions of care is not clear. In this study, in addition to standard discharge care, older adults hospitalized with pneumonia who were randomized to the intervention group received enhanced care: pharmacist-led motivational interviewing. MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS: Evaluation of adherence to prescribed antibiotic regimens and patient satisfaction with the motivational interviewing, enhanced-care session. RESULTS: Ultimately, 87% of patients in the intervention group (n = 16) compared with 64% of patients in the control group (n = 14) were adherent to their antibiotic regimens. Patient satisfaction with the motivational interviewing intervention was high. CONCLUSION: Pharmacist-led motivational interviewing sessions have the potential to positively influence antibiotic adherence rates and patient satisfaction.