Lauren S. Schlesselman

A Faculty Toolkit for Formative Assessment in Pharmacy Education

This paper aims to increase understanding and appreciation of formative assessment and its role in improving student outcomes and the instructional process, while educating faculty on formative techniques readily adaptable to various educational settings. Included are a definition of formative assessment and the distinction between formative and summative assessment. Various formative assessment strategies to evaluate student learning in classroom, laboratory, experiential, and interprofessional education settings are discussed. The role of reflective writing and portfolios, as well as the role of technology in formative assessment, are described. The paper also offers advice for formative assessment of faculty teaching. In conclusion, the authors emphasize the importance of creating a culture of assessment that embraces the concept of 360-degree assessment in both the development of a student’s ability to demonstrate achievement of educational outcomes and a faculty member’s ability to become an effective educator.

A 5-Year Analysis of Peer-Reviewed Journal Article Publications of Pharmacy Practice Faculty Members

Objectives. To evaluate scholarship, as represented by peer-reviewed journal articles, among US pharmacy practice faculty members; contribute evidence that may better inform benchmarking by academic pharmacy practice departments; and examine factors that may be related to publication rates. Methods. Journal articles published by all pharmacy practice faculty members between January 1, 2006, and December 31, 2010, were identified. College and school publication rates were compared based on public vs. private status, being part of a health science campus, having a graduate program, and having doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) faculty members funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Results. Pharmacy practice faculty members published 6,101 articles during the 5-year study period, and a pharmacy practice faculty member was the primary author on 2,698 of the articles. Pharmacy practice faculty members published an average of 0.51 articles per year. Pharmacy colleges and schools affiliated with health science campuses, at public institutions, with NIH-funded PharmD faculty members, and with graduate programs had significantly higher total publication rates compared with those that did not have these characteristics (p<0.006). Conclusion. Pharmacy practice faculty members contributed nearly 6,000 unique publications over the 5-year period studied. However, this reflects a rate of less than 1 publication per faculty member per year, suggesting that a limited number of faculty members produced the majority of publications.

Multi-Institutional Study of Women and Underrepresented Minority Faculty Members in Academic Pharmacy

Objectives. To examine trends in the numbers of women and underrepresented minority (URM) pharmacy faculty members over the last 20 years, and determine factors influencing women faculty members’ pursuit and retention of an academic pharmacy career. Methods. Twenty-year trends in women and URM pharmacy faculty representation were examined. Women faculty members from 9 public colleges and schools of pharmacy were surveyed regarding demographics, job satisfaction, and their academic pharmacy career, and relationships between demographics and satisfaction were analyzed. Results. The number of women faculty members more than doubled between 1989 and 2009 (from 20.7% to 45.5%), while the number of URM pharmacy faculty members increased only slightly over the same time period. One hundred fifteen women faculty members completed the survey instrument and indicated they were generally satisfied with their jobs. The academic rank of professor, being a nonpharmacy practice faculty member, being tenured/tenure track, and having children were associated with significantly lower satisfaction with fringe benefits. Women faculty members who were tempted to leave academia for other pharmacy sectors had significantly lower salary satisfaction and overall job satisfaction, and were more likely to indicate their expectations of academia did not match their experiences (p<0.05). Conclusions. The significant increase in the number of women pharmacy faculty members over the last 20 years may be due to the increased number of female pharmacy graduates and to women faculty members’ satisfaction with their careers. Lessons learned through this multi-institutional study and review may be applicable to initiatives to improve recruitment and retention of URM pharmacy faculty members.

College and School of Pharmacy Characteristics Associated With US News and World Report Rankings

Objective. To determine the association between characteristics of colleges and schools of pharmacy and their rankings according to US News and World Report. Methods. The 2008 US News and World Report, mean ranking scores (ranging from 2.0 to 5.0) for 78 US colleges and schools of pharmacy were compared with college and school characteristics, including academic program, students, faculty, and scholarship. The adjusted difference in mean ranking score associated with each characteristic was determined using a multivariate mixed linear regression model. Results. The most powerful identified predictors of mean ranking score included the amount of grant funding (National Institutes of Health [NIH] and non-NIH funding) a college or school of pharmacy received and the yearly publication rates of its department of pharmacy (p≤0.001 for both). The adjusted mean ranking scores for colleges and schools receiving >

A cross-sectional study of applied bioethical reasoning in pharmacy students and preceptors

5 million and

Index of Learning Styles in a U.S. School of Pharmacy

1 million to

Prevalence of hazardous alcohol use among pharmacy students at nine U.S. schools of pharmacy

5 million in scholarly grant funding were respectively 0.77 and 0.26 points higher than those receiving none. Adjusted mean ranking scores for colleges and schools whose departments of pharmacy practice had publishing rates of >20 papers and 11 to 20 papers were respectively 0.40 and 0.17 points higher than those publishing ≤10 (p<0.05 for both). Conclusion. The characteristic of colleges and schools of pharmacy most associated with US News and World Report rankings appears to be their scholarly productivity.

An Assessment of Service-Learning in 34 US Schools of Pharmacy Follow Up on the 2001 Professional Affairs Committee Report

Objective To compare ethical principles most often utilized by pharmacy students and preceptors to determine plan of action for an ethical dilemma and to determine if ethical principles utilized are the same for individuals in the postconventional range Method A two part survey was administered to a convenience sample of pharmacy students and preceptors. The first part was comprised of an original measure, the Pharmacy Ethical Dilemmas Survey (PEDS), that was developed to assess participants’ action choices on healthcare-related ethical dilemmas and which moral rule or ethical principle was most influential in their decision. The second part was comprised of the Defining Issues Test. Results Patient autonomy and non-maleficience were the primary bioethical principles applied by students but pharmacists applied non-maleficience, patient autonomy, and also pharmacist autonomy. For all scenarios, students were more likely to rely on the principle of beneficence, while preceptors were more likely to rely on the pharmacist’s right to autonomy. In the analysis of application of bioethical principles by higher and lower principled reasoning individuals, only in the assisted suicide scenario did the two groups agree on the primary principle applied with both groups relying predominantly on patient autonomy. Conclusion Students and preceptors utilize different bioethical principles to support how they would handle each ethical dilemma but P-scores do not play a role in determining which bioethical principles were used to justify their action choices.

Alcohol attitudes and behaviors among faculty at U.S. schools and colleges of pharmacy

Objective The goal of this study was to assess for a predominance of learning styles among pharmacy students at an accredited U.S. school of pharmacy. Methods Following approval by the Institutional Review Board, the Index of Learning Styles© was administered to 210 pharmacy students. The survey provides results within 4 domains: perception, input, processing, and understanding. Analyses were conducted to determine trends in student learning styles. Results Within the four domains, 84% of students showed a preference toward sensory perception, 66% toward visual input, and 74% toward sequential understanding. Students showed no significant preference for active or reflective processing. Preferences were of moderate strength for the sensing, visual, and sequential learning styles. Conclusions Students showed preferences for sensing, visual, and sequential learning styles with gender playing a role in learning style preferences. Faculty should be aware, despite some preferences, a mix of learning styles exists. To focus on the preferences found, instructors should focus teaching in a logical progression while adding visual aids. To account for other types of learning styles found, the instructors can offer other approaches and provide supplemental activities for those who would benefit from them. Further research is necessary to compare these learning styles to the teaching styles of pharmacy preceptors and faculty at schools of pharmacy.

Commit Yourself to Improvement of Student Learning.

Hazardous use of alcohol continues to be recognized as a problem at the university level. Knowledge regarding alcohol consumption in healthcare professional students is limited, especially in regards to pharmacy students. Much of the information available focuses on pharmacy student drinking patterns in specific geographic regions or is simply outdated. Objective This study was designed to assess levels of alcohol consumption and estimate the level of hazardous drinking among pharmacy students in a larger sample size that is representative of US pharmacy schools. Methods An anonymous survey regarding alcohol usage was offered to students at nine schools of pharmacy across the United States. The survey consisted of demographic questions, the World Health Organization Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), and questions that assess particular alcohol-induced behaviors. Results More than 25% of 1161 respondents had a total AUDIT score ≥ 8, which indicates a risk of alcohol-related problems. Students that were male, in their first or second professional year of school, not married, and without children were statistically more likely to have AUDIT scores in the hazardous drinking range. Grade point average and student housing did not statistically affect student’s AUDIT scores. Conclusions These results indicate that over one-fourth of pharmacy students surveyed have indicators of harmful alcohol use. Pharmacy schools should continue to address and confront hazardous alcohol use on campuses in order to curtail heavy alcohol consumption and reduce the risk of alcohol-related problems in pharmacy students.