Peggy Piascik

Recognition of Teaching Excellence

The 2008–2009 Task Force for the Recognition of Teaching Excellence was charged by the AACP Council of Faculties Leadership to examine teaching excellence by collecting best practices from colleges and schools of pharmacy, evaluating the literature to identify evidence-based criteria for excellent teaching, and recommending appropriate means to acknowledge and reward teaching excellence. This report defines teaching excellence and discusses a variety of ways to assess it, including student, alumni, peer, and self-assessment. The task force identifies important considerations that colleges and schools must address when establishing teaching recognition programs including the purpose, criteria, number and mix of awards, frequency, type of award, and method of nominating and determining awardees. The report concludes with recommendations for the academy to consider when establishing and revising teaching award programs.

Are Serious Games a Good Strategy for Pharmacy Education

Serious gaming is the use of game principles for the purposes of learning, skill acquisition, and training. Higher education is beginning to incorporate serious gaming into curricula, and health professions education is the most common area for serious game use. Advantages of serious gaming in pharmacy education include authentic, situated learning without risk of patient consequences, collaborative learning, ability to challenge students of all performance levels, high student motivation with increased time on task, immediate feedback, ability to learn from mistakes without becoming discouraged, and potential for behavior and attitude change. Development of quality games for pharmacy education requires content expertise as well as expertise in the science and design of gaming. When well done, serious gaming provides a valuable additional tool for pharmacy education.

Providing Pharmaceutical Care to the Multiple Sclerosis Patient

OBJECTIVE To review the pathophysiology, symptoms, and treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS). DATA SOURCES Recently published clinical literature identified through review of articles abstracted at MEDLINE. Search terms included multiple sclerosis, interferon beta, glatiramer acetate, mitoxantrone, treatment, symptoms, steroids, etiology, and neutralizing antibodies. STUDY SELECTION Performed manually by the authors. DATA EXTRACTION Performed manually by the authors. DATA SYNTHESIS MS is a chronic disease of the central nervous system that most often strikes patients in their early 30s. Noticeable geographic, ethnic, racial, and sex differences in incidence remain unexplained. Diagnosis relies heavily on the presence of neurologic signs and symptoms, and magnetic resonance imaging of the brain is increasingly useful. Treatment with steroids, interferon beta-1b (Betaseron-Berlex) and interferon beta-1a (Avonex-Biogen; Rebif-Serono), and glatiramer acetate (Copaxone-Teva) can produce periods of remission in patients with MS. Management of adverse medication effects and disease-related symptoms of fatigue, pain, and bladder dysfunction is important in these patients. CONCLUSION MS is currently incurable but largely treatable. Research has produced promising new medications, and investigational therapies hold promise for better treatment of this debilitating condition.

New antibody approved for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.

Adalimumab joins free existing biologic agents for the treatment of RA. Its place among these therapeutic options is unclear until head-to-head studies are performed with adalimumab and other biologic DMARDs. Adalimumab is currently in clinical trials for additional therapeutic uses, namely Crohns disease and coronary artery disease.

Intranasal Flu Vaccine Available This Season

FluMist provides a convenient alternative to the traditional flu shot. Use of a live attenuated virus that stimulates an immune response directly in the nasal passages has certain therapeutic advantages in some patients. However, the cost of this form of flu vaccine is likely to be borne entirely by the patient.

Pharmaceutical Care of Biotechnology: Distribution, Pharmacoeconomics, Product Evaluation, and Specialty Practice Considerations

Providing biotechnology pharmaceutical care poses unique challenges for pharmacists. Biotechnology products often have special requirements for storage, dispensing, and administration which have traditionally limited their distribution to hospitals and clinics. The growing number of biotechnology products and the increasing use of these products in outpatient settings will provide opportunities for pharmacists who are prepared to deal with the special needs of these products. Biotechnology products are often expensive which has led to close scrutiny of their use. A careful analysis of these products, however, should consider both the cost of the products and the benefit to patients. Pharmacoeconomics provides the pharmacist with rigorous methods for determining the value of biologic products by carefully balancing the cost with the patient outcomes achieved. Providing biotechnology pharmaceutical care services requires substantial commitment on the part of pharmacists, but provides an opportunity to fill a need and develop a rewarding practice.

Medicinal Leeches: Ancient Therapy is a Source of Biotech Drugs

Hirudin analogs have been shown to be inhibitors of thrombin with many potential uses. These agents appear to have advantages over conventional anticoagulant agents such as heparin. The hirudin compounds do not require a cofactor to work, have consistent dose-dependent effects, act directly on thrombin, are highly specific, and have little to no toxicity.

Dispensing Biotechnology Products: Handling, Professional Education, and Product Information

Preparation, dispensing, and patient education regarding appropriate use of pharmaceuticals are primarily the responsibility of the pharmacist. Traditionally, parenteral products have been available in ready-to-use containers or required dilution with water or saline prior to use with no other special handling requirements. Hospital pharmacists, in particular, have prepared and dispensed parenteral products for individual patients for many years. While many pharmacists are skilled in handling parenteral products, biotechnology products present additional challenges since they are proteins subject to denaturation and thus require special handling techniques. These challenges will be explained in greater detail in this chapter. Practice issues with biotechnology products may be handled in slightly different ways depending on laws and pharmacy practice standards in each country. This chapter is written primarily from the view of practice in the United States since that is the primary experience of the authors.

Vital Directions for Pharmacy Education and Practice: Report of the 2017-18 Argus Commission

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Argus Commission examined the National Academy of Medicine’s publication “Vital Directions for Health and Health Care” and engaged with six guests from outside academic pharmacy to identify the salience of the key issues and recommendations for pharmacy education and practice. To be part of the changing health care system we must prepare graduates and faculty to be patient- and community-centered, to command electronic systems of communication with members of interprofessional teams and to create and apply real-world evidence. Sustainable practice models will depend upon the measurement of performance and the assessment of the value produced by clinicians. To that end, the Commission advances a proposed policy related to the knowledge graduates must possess in key areas, including informatics, data analytics, genomics and value-based payment schemes. This will require new forms of faculty development and engagement between AACP members and their communities.

Aligning the AACP strategic engagement agenda with key federal priorities in health: Report of the 2016-17 argus commission

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Argus Commission identified three major federal priorities related to health care, including the precision medicine initiative, the Cancer Moonshot and the opioid abuse epidemic. Current activities at the federal level were summarized and an analysis of activities within the profession, and academic pharmacy specifically, was prepared. The implications for pharmacy education, research and practice are compelling in all three areas. Recommendations, suggestions and two policy statements aim to optimize the attention to these priorities by the academy. Further, aligning the AACP Strategic Engagement agenda with the opportunities and threats acknowledged in the analysis is essential.