Kerry K. Fierke

Including Emotional Intelligence in Pharmacy Curricula to Help Achieve CAPE Outcomes

The importance of emotional intelligence (EI) for effective teamwork and leadership within the workplace is increasingly apparent. As suggested by the 2013 CAPE Outcomes, we recommend that colleges and schools of pharmacy consider EI-related competencies to build self-awareness and professionalism among students. In this Statement, we provide two examples of the introduction of EI into pharmacy curricula. In addition, we provide a 4-phase process based on recommendations developed by EI experts for structuring and planning EI development. Finally, we make 9 recommendations’ to inform the process of including EI in pharmacy curricula.

Facilitating community partnerships to reduce opioid overdose: An Engaged Department initiative

BACKGROUND The opioid crisis is a major public health priority for most United States communities and requires multi-disciplinary and multi-pronged approaches. Despite this, there is considerable unfulfilled potential for engagement of academic pharmacy with community partners to form mutually-beneficial relationships. OBJECTIVES This study sought to determine how an opioid-focused Engaged Department Initiative might increase partnerships with rural community members and positively impact faculty teaching, service, practice and research while addressing a critical public health crisis in northern Minnesota. METHODS A multidisciplinary department at a College of Pharmacy participated in an 18-month Engaged Department Initiative focused on building community partnerships to address the opioid crisis in rural communities of northern Minnesota. This initiative included internal, departmental-specific components, as well as external components focused on meeting opioid-related needs in the community. RESULTS This initiative resulted in statistically significant increases in faculty understanding of and appreciation for community engagement, as well as the creation of impactful community-led programming focused on prevention and intervention of opioid use disorder. The community partnerships that were formed and strengthened throughout the Engaged Department Initiative have led to continuing opioid-related engagement activities with an ever-increasing number of surrounding communities. CONCLUSION An Engaged Department process allowed one department to bring a higher level of attention to community engagement to the entire College of Pharmacy and to incorporate goals and initiatives related to community engagement into a new collegiate strategic plan.

Living an Educational Mission to Meet the Needs of Community and Public Health: Community Engagement in Pharmacy Education:

The Pharmacy Practice and Pharmaceutical Sciences (PPPS) department on the Duluth campus of the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy (COP) was established in 2004 to meet the health-related needs of greater Minnesota with a mission to continuously improve “interdisciplinary pharmaceutical care education, research, practice and service focused on the health and well-being of underserved, rural, and indigenous communities.” In alignment with the PPPS mission and Boyer’s model of engaged scholarship, students and faculty have partnered with local communities through outreach events that have had a lasting impact on community health. Student-led programming can play a vital role in community and public health through health fairs and outreach activities that target the homeless, underserved, vulnerable communities, and individuals of all ages ranging from childhood to elderly. Over the past 10 years, these outreach events led by pharmacy students and faculty at the COP have provided educational and health-related services to more than 5,000 community members in northern Minnesota while providing valuable learning opportunities for students, faculty, and pharmacist preceptors.