The Complicated Middle of the Academic Deanery.

The complicated and ever-growing roles of assistant and associate deans (A-deans) can often be compared to those of middle managers. With responsibilities that are rapidly expanding and often unclear or overlapping with other personnel, A-deans may face identity crises. Additionally, because they are often not at the full professor level, they may experience difficulty achieving promotion. In this commentary, the authors call for increased awareness of the challenges associated with these roles and suggest opportunities for change. To maximize effectiveness in their roles, the Academy and colleges/schools are encouraged to explore workload/expectations for A-deans and associated reward structures, including promotion and tenure guidelines with explicit recognition for the important role(s) they play. A-deans are also encouraged to advocate for infrastructure and responsibilities that support both their academic institution and their own individual professional goals.

Evaluation of a novel process for selecting advanced pharmacy practice experiences.

INTRODUCTION: Matching an increasing number of pharmacy students with a limited number of advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) sites has become challenging for pharmacy schools. Selective tiered optimization (STO), a process for matching students with competitive APPE electives, was implemented by The University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy (UMSOP) in 2015 to address these concerns. This pilot study sought to evaluate student and preceptor satisfaction with the process. METHODS: Electronic surveys were sent to students enrolled in APPEs and individuals who precepted APPE students at the UMSOP from 2016 to 2019. The surveys were designed to gauge satisfaction with STO's process, goals, utility, and fairness. RESULTS: There were 63 responses from 149 preceptors (42% response rate) and 70 respondents from 314 students (22% response rate). Overall, both students and preceptors expressed satisfaction and found value in participating in STO. Both groups indicated that the benefit they received from participating in STO outweighed the extra effort required. Preceptors indicated that students who participated in STO were of higher quality and more focused, hardworking, and interested than those who did not participate. CONCLUSIONS: Respondents were satisfied with the STO process and experience. The process was perceived by preceptors to be fair for all students and worthwhile for its participants. Our results also demonstrated that this process is effective for easing the competitive APPE selection process. Schools and colleges of pharmacy should consider utilizing this process to alleviate applicable challenges with APPE selection.

Current Status and Best Practices of Shared Governance in US Pharmacy Programs.

Objective. To characterize shared governance in US schools and colleges of pharmacy and recommend best practices to promote faculty engagement and satisfaction. Findings. The literature review revealed only one study on governance in a pharmacy school and some data from an AACP Faculty Survey. Of the 926 faculty members who responded to the survey, the majority were satisfied or very satisfied with faculty governance (64%) and the level of input into faculty governance (63%) at their school. Faculty members in administrative positions and those at public institutions were more satisfied with governance. The forum resulted in the development of five themes: establish a clear vision of governance in all areas; ensure that faculty members are aware of their roles and responsibilities within the governance structure; ensure faculty members are able to join committees of interest; recognize and reward faculty contributions to governance; and involve all full-time faculty members in governance, regardless of their tenure status. Summary. Establishing shared governance within a school or college of pharmacy impacts overall faculty satisfaction and potentially faculty retention.

Blend your passion with your craft: Artisanal habits in academic writing.

INTRODUCTION: The artisanal dimension of writing, as highlighted in Helen Sword's BASE model, is explored in the context of pharmacy education. Positing that "technical" and "artisanal" are adjectives on a continuum, this viewpoint suggests that pharmacy academicians may be writers embodying a blend of both. COMMENTARY: Perspectives and pearls from a variety of Mississippi artists and artisans are suggested as ways for academics to embrace artisanal habits as they apply creativity to their scientific writing. IMPLICATIONS: If authors have employed artisanal habits, it is likely that the readers will ultimately come away with an appreciation for the care that the writer took, and the initiative implicit in the writing to share with others-regardless of whether readers find the content itself to be in line with or counter to their expectations and assumptions.

Measurement of Grit and Correlation to Student Pharmacist Academic Performance.

Objective. To describe grittiness of students from three pharmacy schools and determine if grit is associated with academic performance measures. Methods. Pharmacy students completed an electronic questionnaire that included the Short Grit Scale (Grit-S). Associations were determined using logistic regression. Results. Grit-S total score was a significant and independent predictor for participants who reported a GPA ≥3.5, and Consistency of Interest (COI) and Perseverance of Effort (POE) domain scores were significantly higher compared to participants with a GPA of 3.0-3.49. Participants reporting a D or F had slightly lower average total Grit-S scores and COI domain scores compared to participants who did not. In addition, the group who reported a GPA <3.0 had lower scores in the POE domain compared to those with a GPA of 3.0-3.4. Conclusion. Grittiness may be associated with student pharmacist academic performance and the Grit-S Scale may have substantive implications for use in pharmacy programs.

Drug-induced metabolic syndrome.

The metabolic syndrome is a cluster of risk factors associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. Based on data from 1988 to 1994, it is estimated that 24% of adults in the United States meet the criteria for diagnosis of the metabolic syndrome. The use of certain medications may increase the risk of the metabolic syndrome by either promoting weight gain or altering lipid or glucose metabolism. Health providers should recognize and understand the risk associated with certain medications and appropriately monitor for changes related to the metabolic syndrome. Careful attention to drug choices should be paid in patients who are overweight or have other risk factors for diabetes or cardiovascular disease.

Effectiveness of a school-based intervention to increase health knowledge of cardiovascular disease risk factors among rural Mississippi middle school children.

BACKGROUND: Few school-based interventions have been evaluated to assess health awareness among children in rural southern areas. The purpose of this controlled investigation was to increase health awareness among middle school-aged children residing in a racially diverse rural community in Mississippi. METHODS: This investigation assessed health knowledge before and after a 16-week school-based intervention in 205 fifth-grade students. Height, weight, BMI, body composition, waist circumference, dietary intake, blood lipids and lipoprotein concentrations, blood glucose concentrations, and resting blood pressure were measured to enhance student awareness of cardiovascular disease risk factors. Values in the intervention school were compared with those obtained simultaneously in a control school within the same community. RESULTS: The school-based intervention was effective in increasing health knowledge in the intervention as compared with the control school. Secondarily, it was effective in improving certain dietary behaviors. Utilizing health care professionals in the classroom to teach students appropriate lifestyles and actually measuring cardiovascular risk factors to increase awareness among students was effective in increasing overall health knowledge. CONCLUSIONS: Health knowledge of rural adolescents can be increased through partnerships with schools and multidisciplinary teams of health care professionals. Ongoing efforts to reduce childhood obesity and cardiovascular disease risk factors are urgently needed, and information obtained during this investigation may be used in planning school-based interventions in other diverse, rural communities.

Exercise, insulin resistance, and hypertension: a complex relationship.

More than 300,000 deaths occur annually in the United States alone as a result of obesity, poor dietary habits, or physical inactivity. Obesity is now an increasingly recognized independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease and leads to numerous other comorbidities. The causal relationships between obesity and both insulin resistance and hypertension have been consistently demonstrated in numerous studies. The relationships consist of cascading events involving insulin, leptin, adiponectin, and other hormones that often precipitate the development of metabolic syndrome. As we learn more about the metabolic activity of the adipose tissue, we can better identify the mechanisms that associate weight reduction with a decrease in health risks. Evidence suggests that exercise produces a positive effect on weight reduction, insulin sensitivity, and blood pressure. Therefore, weight reduction and therapeutic changes in lifestyle should be encouraged in all overweight and obese patients. It is imperative to increase the awareness of the obesity epidemic and to emphasize the importance of exercise as both treatment and prevention of metabolic disease.

Cognitive impairment associated with atorvastatin and simvastatin.

Clinical guidelines for cholesterol testing and management have been updated recently. With the evolving recognition of benefits and intensified recommendations for cholesterol management, many more patients will require cholesterol-lowering drugs. All the statins share similar adverse-effect profiles, with a low overall frequency of undesirable effects. Emerging data associate statins with a decreased risk of Alzheimer's disease; however, we report two women who experienced significant cognitive impairment temporally related to statin therapy. One woman took atorvastatin, and the other first took atorvastatin, then was rechallenged with simvastatin. Clinicians should be aware of cognitive impairment and dementia as potential adverse effects associated with statin therapy.