Evaluating the Strengths and Barriers of Competency-Based Education in the Health Professions.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to define competency-based education (CBE) for pharmacy education and describe how strengths and barriers of CBE can support or hinder implementation. FINDINGS: Sixty-five studies were included from a variety of health professions in order to define competency based pharmacy education (CBPE) and identify barriers and benefits from the learner, faculty, institution, and society perspectives. From the 7 identified thematic categories, a CBPE definition was developed: "Competency-based pharmacy education is an outcomes-based curricular model of an organized framework of competencies (knowledge, skills, attitudes) for pharmacists to meet health care and societal needs. This learner-centered curricular model aligns authentic teaching and learning strategies and assessment (emphasizing workplace assessment and quality feedback) while deemphasizing time." SUMMARY: This article provides a definition of CBE for its application within pharmacy education. The strengths and barriers for CBE were elucidated from other health professions' education literature. Identified implementation strengths and barriers aid in the discussions on what will support or hinder the implementation of CBE in pharmacy education.

Medication-assisted recovery for opioid use disorder: A guide.

Considering offering medical intervention for OUD to reduce mortality? It's essential to understand the clinical benefits, limitations, and regulation of available agents.

Outcomes of a mobile medical unit for low-threshold buprenorphine access targeting opioid overdose hot spots in Chicago.

INTRODUCTION: Opioid overdoses in Chicago are unevenly distributed, affecting medically underserved neighborhoods most acutely. Innovations in reaching patients perceived to be hard-to-reach (e.g., unstably housed, marginalized), especially in these underserved neighborhoods, are urgently needed to combat the overdose crisis. This study characterizes the pilot year of a mobile medical unit partnership between a large urban academic center and a community-based harm reduction organization in Chicago. METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study of all patients who were seen on a mobile medical unit focused on providing low-threshold buprenorphine and primary care in areas with high opioid overdose rates on Chicago's West Side. Treatment episodes were accrued between July 1, 2021, and June 30, 2022 in the first year of operation. The main outcomes were number of patients seen, demographic characteristics of patients, and reason(s) for visit over time. RESULTS: The study saw 587 unique patients on the mobile medical unit between July 1, 2021, and June 30, 2022. Approximately 64.6 % were African American, and more than half lacked active insurance or could not confirm insurance status at the time of visit. The most common reason for initial visit was COVID-19 vaccination (42.4 %), and the most common reason for follow-up visit was buprenorphine treatment (51.0 %). Eleven patients initially presented for other health concerns and later returned to initiate buprenorphine. CONCLUSIONS: The mobile medical unit successfully reached nearly 600 patients in traditionally medically underserved Chicago neighborhoods with the highest overdose rates. The mobile unit's integrated approach met a variety of health needs, including buprenorphine initiation, with a unique opportunity for postoverdose initiation. Several patients initiated buprenorphine after presenting for different health concerns, showing the potential of an integrated approach to build on past mobile outreach programs and reach people with opioid use disorder who are not yet ready to initiate treatment.

Stratification of burnout in health-system pharmacists during the COVID-19 pandemic: A focus on the ambulatory care pharmacist.

Introduction: Burnout is defined as high emotional exhaustion and depersonalization, and low personal accomplishment from work. Prevalence of burnout among health-system and ambulatory care pharmacists is unknown during the COVID-19 pandemic. Objectives: The purpose of this research is to analyze burnout prevalence among health-system pharmacists (HSPs) and ambulatory care pharmacists (ACPs) using the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory and Maslach Burnout Inventory. Methods: An electronic survey was sent to HSPs at two academic health systems in Chicago, IL. Demographics, risk of burnout based on two validated assessments (the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory [OLBI] and the Maslach Burnout Inventory [MBI]), burnout contributors, burnout mitigation strategies, and change in burnout due to COVID-19 were collected. Burnout was defined as meeting any one criterion for high burnout on the following dimensions: exhaustion score and disengagement on the OLBI, and emotional exhaustion and depersonalization on the MBI. The co-primary outcomes were the prevalence of burnout among HSPs, and the comparison of ACP burnout to that of non-ambulatory HSPs. Secondary outcomes were comparison of burnout between the OLBI and MBI assessments, conceptualization of the causes and contributors of burnout and mitigation strategies among HSPs, and the self-perceived effect of COVID-19 on burnout severity. Results: Of the 113 pharmacists included in the study, HSP burnout prevalence as defined above was 87.6%, ACP burnout was 88.4%, and non-ambulatory HSP burnout was 87.1%. There was no statistical difference between ACP and non-ambulatory HSP burnout prevalence, either overall or in any specific burnout dimension. The OLBI and MBI captured similar rates of burnout. The commonly reported burnout causes were staffing and scheduling issues, precepting requirements, and patient needs. Participants' most reported coping strategies were spending time with family/friends, sleep, exercise, and recreational/relaxation activities. A majority of HSPs (78.2%) reported higher levels of burnout due to COVID-19. Conclusion: HSP burnout during COVID-19 pandemic is higher than cited in the pre-COVID literature. Individual coping strategies are poor buffers for work-related burnout.