Jennie B. Jarrett

Geriatric care curriculum in US PharmD programs: What's happening?

OBJECTIVES Current Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) Standards are not explicit regarding geriatrics content. The objective of this review is to describe published examples of how care for older adults is integrated into Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) curricula at accredited schools/colleges of pharmacy across the United States. METHODS PubMed and Embase databases were searched. Manuscripts addressing care for older adults in pharmacy curriculum in the United States were included in the review. RESULTS Thirteen PharmD programs have thirteen published examples of how geriatric care was integrated into their curriculum. The most common way geriatric care is integrated into PharmD programs is through Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experiences (IPPE) followed by existing course content and elective course content. CONCLUSION There is a wide variety of curriculum strategies currently being utilized to incorporate geriatric education into PharmD programs in the United States. However, this may not be sufficient to support the care of the growing older adult population.

Continuity of Specialty Pharmacy Practice: A Survey of PGY-2 Pharmacy Residency Graduates:

Background: Literature regarding career trajectory for postgraduate year 2 (PGY-2) pharmacy residency specialty–trained pharmacists is limited. Objective: The objective of our study is to describe PGY-2 pharmacy residency training on career practice and satisfaction. Methods: A cross-sectional study surveyed graduates of PGY-2 pharmacy residency programs. Respondents were identified by current PGY-2 residency program directors requesting participation from their program alumni. The primary outcome was whether PGY-2 residency–trained pharmacists continued working within their specialty or not. Secondary outcomes included alternative specialty areas, current satisfaction with their specialty, and the necessity of completing a PGY-2. Results: Among 647 respondents, 84% completed their program in the past 6 years. The top 3 represented pharmacy specialties were critical care (19%), ambulatory care (14%), and oncology (13%). Most respondents continue to practice in the same specialty as their PGY-2 residency program (n = 572, 87%) compared with pharmacists who currently practice in other clinical specialties or areas of pharmacy (n = 83, 13%). Critical care (n = 28, 33%) had the largest specialty response no longer practicing in their PGY-2 residency program specialty with 42% (n = 12) now practicing within the emergency medicine specialty. The average satisfaction for their current specialty was 4.7 ± 0.82 (Likert scale of 1 = extremely dissatisfied to 5 = extremely satisfied). Conclusions: The vast majority PGY-2 pharmacy residency–trained pharmacists experienced training-practice concordance and are satisfied with their trained specialty. Among those with specialty training practice discordance, critical care training was most prevalent.

Factors contributing to depression in pharmacy residentsFactors contributing to depression in pharmacy residents

We thank Williams et al.[1][1] for their article describing the rates of depressive symptoms among pharmacy residents. Their work adds to the literature and critical discussion of depression rates among healthcare providers. The researchers found the overall rate of depressive symptoms in pharmacy

Entrustable Professional Activities as a Novel Framework for Pharmacy Education

Entrustable professional activities (EPAs) are units of measure for a particular profession that describe the professional’s unique abilities and work. EPAs can be used in two ways: as a link between individual competencies for mastery and overall professional responsibilities in practice; and as a mechanism for faculty to assess the student’s progression using levels of decreasing supervision. Currently used in medical education, implementation and utilization of EPAs within pharmacy education has potential benefits and challenges. This article will describe, highlight benefits of, and share mitigation strategies for implementing EPAs within pharmacy education.