Anne Leversha

Pharmacy student views on preceptorship during rural placements

Aims: To identify factors that undergraduate pharmacy students valued most highly in a rural clinical placement experience. Methods: Pharmacy students from four universities were invited to participate in a survey and/or focus group. A 42 item questionnaire was used in which students were asked to rate various aspects of their rural placement on a five point Likert scale. During the focus groups students were invited to explore positive and negative aspects of their rural placement and to make suggestions for future placements. Results: About 108 students responded to the questionnaire and 26 participated in the focus groups. Students rated most highly the role of the preceptor in making their rural placement a success. Two themes emerged from the focus groups which highlighted the relationship between preceptorship and learning. Conclusion: Students valued their placements highly when they were in a supportive learning environment, with an organised structure and adequately supported by the universities.

Factors influencing pharmacy students’ internship site choice

Experiential placements are an essential component of undergraduate pharmacy education in Australia. However, the influence the placements have on students’ choice of intern site warrants further investigation.

Insulin: a commonly used high-risk medicine

Type 2 diabetes is common and is associated with progressive beta cell loss, insulin deficiency, organ damage and effects on mental health and wellbeing. The current management focus is on stringent blood glucose control (HbA1c <7% [53mmol/mol]) and early insulin initiation. Insulin is a high‐risk medicine and is associated with a high rate of errors, adverse events and admissions to hospital. An insulin high‐risk medicine alert and accompanying audit tool were developed and distributed to Australian hospitals in Victoria in 2009.

Time to Increase Mentoring in Our Profession

4 A few years ago, if someone used the term ‘mentoring’, only a minority of pharmacists would have understood its implications. Now, mentoring has connotations that implies a level of understanding throughout the profession. There is limited information in the literature on mentoring in pharmacy. It is easy to find reference to mentoring in other professions where it has an established role. In recent years, providing answers to questions concerning mentoring in the pharmacy profession has become easier.