Technology Personalities in the Classroom: A New Classification System of TechTypes from Expert to Techy Turtle.

The incorporation of technology in higher education has increased rapidly in recent years to allow for remote work and to promote active learning. Technology use could align with personality type and adopter status as defined by the diffusion of innovations theory. A review of the literature was conducted using PubMed with 106 articles found, and 2 articles meeting the inclusion criteria of the study. Search terms included "technology AND education", "pharmacy AND personality", "technology AND faculty AND personality", and "technology AND health educators AND personality". This paper highlights the current literature and introduces a new classification system to describe the technology personalities of instructors. The proposed personality types (TechTypes) include expert, budding guru, adventurer, cautious optimist, and techy turtle. Awareness of the advantages and disadvantages of each personality type-as well as one's own technology personality-may guide the selection of collaborators and tailor technology training for future growth.

A Pharmacy Drug Knowledge Assessment Pilot: Who Will Fly Farthest and What Downs the Plane?

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of a sequenced drug knowledge pilot in third professional year students in a capstone course. METHODS: A three-phase drug knowledge pilot was conducted in spring 2022. Students completed a total of thirteen assessments, including nine low-stakes quizzes, three formative tests, and a final summative comprehensive exam. Results from the previous year's cohort (historical control) who only completed a summative comprehensive exam were compared to the pilot (test group) results to assess effectiveness. The faculty spent over 300 h developing content for the test group. RESULTS: The pilot group had a mean score of 80.9% on the final competency exam, which was one percent lower than the control group who had a less rigorous intervention. A sub-analysis was conducted that removed the students who failed (<73%) the final competency exam, and no significant difference in the exam score was found. One practice drug exam was found to be moderately correlated and significant (r = 0.62) with the final knowledge exam performance in the control. The number of attempts on the low-stakes assessments had a low correlation with the final exam score in the test group compared to the control (r = 0.24). CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest a need to further investigate the best practices for knowledge-based drug characteristic assessments.

Pharmacogenomics elective focused on advanced lab techniques, game-based learning, and business plan development.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Many medications contain labeling information related to pharmacogenomics. Effective education in this area is critical to ensure that future healthcare professionals are equipped with the skills needed to optimize patient therapy based on genetic testing results. This study focused on a novel elective course designed to educate students in pharmacogenomics. EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY AND SETTING: We developed a one credit hour pharmacogenomics elective course divided into three main content areas. The first section incorporated traditional lecture to review and cover new content not otherwise covered in the curriculum. The second section applied foundational content from the first session through an educational review game and simulated business plan. The third section of the course provided students an overview of laboratory techniques and sample collection procedures. To evaluate the effectiveness of these activities, students provided feedback through course evaluations and completed pre- and posttests on basic pharmacogenomics content. FINDINGS: Overall, the course improved knowledge among students, and students provided positive feedback. Students averaged 9% higher on the posttest compared to the pretest (P = .03). Course evaluations trended positive with ratings close to "strongly agree." The most frequent comments stated an appreciation for the interactive components of the course and recommended increasing the elective to two credit hours. SUMMARY: Through incorporation of novel lab techniques, game-based learning, and an innovative business plan process, the course increased student knowledge and received positive feedback. These new techniques could serve as a model for other pharmacogenomics training programs.

Delivery of interprofessional education through a co-curricular journal reviewing medical literature.

BACKGROUND: This study's objective was to determine if student participation in a co-curricular drug information journal would increase interprofessional education (IPE) competency as measured by a validated survey tool. INTERPROFESSIONAL EDUCATION ACTIVITY: To encourage interprofessional collaboration, students from diverse professional backgrounds were split into groups to conduct a literature review, draft an article on a topic of their choice, obtain revisions through formal review, and publish their article in a student-led journal, The ARxCH (The Annual Review of Changes in Healthcare). To measure IPE competency, students completed the validated Interprofessional Collaborative Competencies Attainment Survey (ICCAS) at the beginning and end of the study to measure changes in IPE competency scores. DISCUSSION: Results of the ICCAS survey found that 15 of the 17 IPE competency questions showed significant positive changes from the pre-survey to the post-survey. These findings suggest that The ARxCH publishing process increased IPE competencies when incorporating students from a variety of healthcare backgrounds and leveraging this novel IPE approach of formal manuscript preparation and group discussion. IMPLICATIONS: This student-led journal could serve as a prototype for future longitudinal activities designed to enhance student IPE competence through co-curricular activities.

Digital Storytelling Review in a Pharmacy Self-Care Course.

Digital storytelling is a type of active learning that allows instructors to simulate real-life situations through a series of connected videos. While this technique has been used in other healthcare education disciplines, its use in pharmacy has not been well documented. A digital storytelling model was incorporated in a required self-care pharmacy course to assess if the technique was helpful to improve the knowledge, confidence, and satisfaction of students. Due to a shift in online learning, the self-care course offered a remote exam review session containing a digital storytelling model, and this approach was compared to an in-person exam review that followed a lecture-based model held earlier in the course. Pre- and post-knowledge assessments were given to determine the impact of the digital storytelling review. There were 50 students involved in both sessions and there was a 70% response rate in the digital storytelling group and a 90% response rate in the lecture-based group. Students' knowledge numerically improved, but not to a statistically significant level for most questions. Nonetheless, students reported more confidence (p < 0.05) in their ability to pass the upcoming exam following the digital storytelling review. Thematic analysis revealed that the digital storytelling session was engaging and interactive, though time-management and breakout rooms could be further optimized. Based on these results, exam review in a required self-care pharmacy course using a digital storytelling format may be a suitable method for students to apply course content and may particularly be of utility in online or hybrid courses.

Game-Based Learning in Pharmacy Education.

Game-based learning (GBL) involves adding game elements to non-game activities to encourage engagement. Pharmacy curricula are required to incorporate active learning to meet accreditation standards. The literature supports that well-designed GBL holds the attention of students and improves knowledge in some instances. Furthermore, these adaptable experiences can be leveraged for a variety of content areas in pharmacy education. Some activities utilized by educators require large amounts of technological expertise, while others involve minimal use of technology. The incorporation of technology can create highly immersive experiences for learners; however, there are barriers (e.g., financial and technology prowess) to implementation compared to simpler designs. One area of GBL that is not well defined in the literature is how to adequately assess student learning outcomes. Most current studies describe subjective attitudes and confidence or assess content knowledge through objective pre- and post-tests. In the future, more defined and connected methods for assessment-such as active demonstrations within the game-will be needed to better incorporate GBL into pharmacy curricula. Based on the collective evidence in the literature, some GBL activities may serve as useful tools to improve pharmacy student engagement and learning.

Clinical Application and Educational Training for Pharmacogenomics.

Pharmacogenomics-defined as the study of how genes affect a person's response to drugs-is growing in importance for clinical care. Many medications have evidence and drug labeling related to pharmacogenomics and patient care. New evidence supports the use of pharmacogenomics in clinical settings, and genetic testing may optimize medication selection and dosing. Despite these advantages, the integration of pharmacogenomics into clinical decisions remains variable and challenging in certain practice settings. To ensure consistent application across settings, sufficient education amongst current and future healthcare providers is necessary to further integrate pharmacogenomics into routine clinical practice. This review highlights current evidence supporting clinical application of medications with pharmacogenomic labeling. The secondary objective is to review current strategies for educating health professionals and student trainees. One national organization predicts that most regions in the United States will soon contain at least one healthcare system capable of applying pharmacogenomic information. Applying genotype-guided dosing to several FDA-approved medications may help produce beneficial changes in patient outcomes. Identifying best practices for educating health care professionals and trainees remains vitally important for continuing growth of pharmacogenomic services. As pharmacogenomics continues to expand into more areas of healthcare, current and future practitioners must pursue and maintain competence in pharmacogenomics to ensure better outcomes for patients.

Pharmacy student awareness, aspiration, and preparation for post graduate education (PGE) fellowship in US: A cross-sectional study.

INTRODUCTION: Fellowship opportunities are seen by pharmacy students and graduates as an option to assist in furthering pharmacy knowledge in a specific field or area of interest. Pharmaceutical industry fellowships are the most common pharmacy fellowship available to students. There has been little research on what motivates students to pursue a fellowship and what student characteristics may help predict interest in a fellowship. METHODS: A survey was distributed to P1, P2, and P3 students. The survey took 10-15 min to complete and contained 28 questions. The difference in students' characteristics between fellowship interested students and non-fellowship interested students were examined using chi-square tests and t-tests for categorical variables and continuous variables, respectively. Logistic regression was used to examine predictors of pursuing a fellowship. RESULTS: Age, work experience, and attendance during a fellowship roundtable were all found to be statistically significant predictors of pursuit of a fellowship. Financial obligations, family obligations, and feeling unprepared were the most common reasons for not pursuing a fellowship. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Students earlier in the curriculum were more likely to express interest in pursuing a fellowship. Overall, students felt ill-prepared for the fellowship application process. In addition, fellowship roundtables may be useful for pharmacy programs to help students in their pursuit of fellowships.