Attitudes of Nursing Facilities' Staff Toward Pharmacy Students' Interaction with its Residents.

OBJECTIVE: All Appalachian College of Pharmacy second-year students undertake the longitudinal geriatric early pharmacy practice experiences (EPPE) 2 course, which involves interacting with geriatric residents in two nursing facilities over two semesters. The study investigated the nursing staff's perceptions about the rotation and the pharmacy students' interaction with nursing facility residents. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Academic setting. PARTICIPANTS: 63 nursing facility staff. INTERVENTIONS: A 10-item attitude survey administered to nursing staff. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Nursing staff attitude toward pharmacy students' interaction with geriatric residents during the course. RESULTS: Sixty-three responses were received (84% response rate). Most respondents were female (95.2%), who occasionally interacted with pharmacy students (54.8%) and had worked at the facilities for an average of 6.8 years (standard deviation [SD] = 6.7) years. Staff reported that pharmacy students practiced interacting with geriatric residents and nursing facility staff, learned about different medications taken by residents as well as their life as a nursing facility resident. In addition, the student visits improved the mood of residents and staff's understanding of medicines, among others. Staff suggested that students spend more time with their residents in the facility as well as ask more questions of staff. CONCLUSION: The nursing facility staff generally had favorable attitudes about pharmacy students' visits in their nursing facility. Nursing facility staff noted that the geriatric rotation was a great learning experience for the pharmacy students.

Investigating pharmacy students' attitudes toward nursing facility patients after a geriatric rotation.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate pharmacy students' attitudes toward nursing facility patients and nursing facilities after completing a geriatric rotation. DESIGN: A cross-sectional post-test 20-item survey. SETTING: An academic institution and two nursing facilities. PARTICIPANTS: Nursing facility patients and second-year Appalachian College of Pharmacy students. INTERVENTIONS: Students in Early Pharmacy Practice Experience 2 geriatric course. OUTCOME MEASURES: Students' attitudes toward nursing facility patients and nursing facilities (14 items). RESULTS: Of 138 students, 91.4% completed the survey following their geriatric rotation. Most students had positive attitudes toward nursing facility patients and nursing facilities on all 14 items. For example, students thought, "most older people are pleasant to be with" (mean = 3.88 ± 1.1). About 98% of students had adequate knowledge of geriatrics. Age, gender, marital status, and relationship with grandparents were not associated with students' attitudes (P ≯ 0.05). CONCLUSION: Pharmacy students had positive attitudes toward elderly patients and nursing facilities and adequate knowledge of geriatrics after completing the geriatric rotation.

Effect of an introductory pharmacy practice experience geriatric rotation on pharmacy students' learning outcomes: a qualitative study.

OBJECTIVE: All second-year pharmacy students at Appalachian College of Pharmacy (ACP) undertake the early pharmacy practice experiences (EPPE) II. EPPE II is an introductory pharmacy practice experience (IPPE) geriatric course/rotation that occurs over two semesters during the second year. During the course, students are introduced to long-term care/geriatric patients through visits with their assigned patient for an hour each week for 24 weeks. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of the EPPE II rotation on students' attitudes toward nursing facility patients (mostly geriatric) and long-term care. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Academic site. PARTICIPANTS: Fifty-five second-year Doctor of Pharmacy students at ACP. INTERVENTIONS: All ACP students enrolled in the EPPE II course are required to write a one- to two-page reflective essay during the spring term in which they describe the development of their relationship with their patient over time. Students were asked to submit their essays to faculty investigators for use in this study after completing the course. These essays were independently analyzed for content and categorized into themes by two faculty raters. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Student learning outcomes. RESULTS: A total of 55 students voluntarily submitted their reflective essays for inclusion in the study. Most students had positive opinions about the rotation. Overall, students felt that the rotation was rewarding, valuable, worthwhile, and life-changing. Students cited many aspects that they learned from the course: life lessons, what real patient care involves, how to build patient relationships, and disease states and drugs, among others. Most students indicated that they developed a close relationship with their patients and enjoyed visiting with them in the nursing facility. CONCLUSION: Many students enjoyed visiting with their nursing facility patients and developed a personal relationship with them. Students also learned many aspects as individuals and as future pharmacists.

A Review of the Quality Indicators of Rigor in Qualitative Research.

Attributes of rigor and quality and suggested best practices for qualitative research design as they relate to the steps of designing, conducting, and reporting qualitative research in health professions educational scholarship are presented. A research question must be clear and focused and supported by a strong conceptual framework, both of which contribute to the selection of appropriate research methods that enhance trustworthiness and minimize researcher bias inherent in qualitative methodologies. Qualitative data collection and analyses are often modified through an iterative approach to answering the research question. Researcher reflexivity, essentially a researcher's insight into their own biases and rationale for decision-making as the study progresses, is critical to rigor. This article reviews common standards of rigor, quality scholarship criteria, and best practices for qualitative research from design through dissemination.

Pharmacy students' attitudes toward geriatric nursing home patients.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the attitudes of second-year pharmacy students toward older people in general and geriatric patients in particular after attending an Early Pharmacy Practice Experiences 2 course. METHODS: One hundred forty-four second-year pharmacy students completed the Geriatrics Knowledge Test and Attitudes Survey between 2008 and 2010. RESULTS: On 11 of 14 items, most students had a favorable opinion of older people and providing geriatric care (mean > 3.0 on a 5-point scale). For example, students believed that treatment of chronically ill elderly patients is not hopeless ( 4.2 ± 1.0) and that most older people are pleasant to be with ( 3.8 ± 1.0). Gender, age, race/ethnicity, marital status, having children, and rural or non-rural upbringing were not related to the students' attitudes for most items. CONCLUSION: Although the majority of second-year pharmacy students had favorable attitudes toward older people and geriatric care, the lack of research in this area suggests that further studies are needed.