Phillip L. Thornton

A critical appraisal of and recommendations for faculty development.

The 2009-2010 American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) Council of Faculties Faculty Affairs Committee reviewed published literature assessing the scope and outcomes of faculty development for tenure and promotion. Relevant articles were identified via a PubMed search, review of pharmacy education journals, and identification of position papers from major healthcare professions academic organizations. While programs intended to enhance faculty development were described by some healthcare professions, relatively little specific to pharmacy has been published and none of the healthcare professions have adequately evaluated the impact of various faculty-development programs on associated outcomes. The paucity of published information strongly suggests a lack of outcomes-oriented faculty-development programs in colleges and schools of pharmacy. Substantial steps are required toward the development and scholarly evaluation of faculty-development programs. As these programs are developed and assessed, evaluations must encompass all faculty subgroups, including tenure- and nontenure track faculty members, volunteer faculty members, women, and underrepresented minorities. This paper proposes AACP, college and school, and department-level recommendations intended to ensure faculty success in achieving tenure and promotion.

A Module on Death and Dying to Develop Empathy in Student Pharmacists

Objective. To implement an integrated module on death and dying into a 15-week bioethics course and determine whether it increased student pharmacists’ empathy. Design. Students participated in a 5-week death and dying module that included presentation of the film Wit, an interactive lecture on hospice, and a lecture on the ethics of pain management. Assessment. Fifty-six students completed the 30-item Balanced Emotional Empathy Scale (BEES) before and after completing the module and wrote a reflective essay. Students demonstrated an appreciation of patient-specific values in their essay. Quantitative data collected via BEES scores demonstrated significant improvement in measured empathy. Conclusion. A 5-week instructional model on death and dying significantly increased student empathy.

Evaluation of Multi-course Integrated Learning on Pharmacy Student Confidence in Self-Care Counseling

• Changes in U.S. population demographics characteristics require the preparation of culturally diverse competent healthcare providers who are capable of practicing in an increasingly diverse society.1 • Training in cultural diversity competence has been recognized as a pre-requisite to fostering the transformation of healthcare1 • As response, the accreditation agencies of health-related academic programs have included new requirements of implementing cultural diversity competence along the curriculum.2,3 • Although demonstration of students’ cultural diversity competence and multicultural communication skills are required in most of the accreditation standards for healthrelated programs, more evidence is needed to determine the best teaching and learning practices for achieving these competencies.A Program to Foster Global Citizenship in Pharmacy Education. Ana Maria Castejon, Nova Southeastern University, Dawn Dacosta, Nova Southeastern University, Jaroslav Toth, Comenius University in Bratislava, Jan Kyselovic. Objectives: Understanding the practice of pharmacy from a global perspective is not a traditional curricular outcome in most US pharmacy programs. The objective of this CoCurricular activity was to provide students with an understanding, and appreciation for pharmaceutical and medical practices outside the UnitedStates. A total of 35 student pharmacists participated in aTravel Study Program (TSP) to Slovakia during the summer of 2013 at Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia. Topics covered included pharmacognosy, molecular drug design, European pharmaceutical regulatory agencies and the practice of the profession in Slovakia and the European Union (EU). Live lectures, laboratory practices at the host institution together with multiple site visits to different professional practice settings were included in the TSP. Through reflective exercises we assessed the students’ ability to: 1. Compare the practice of pharmacy in the US versus Slovakia and the EU 2. Identify the professional benefits of attending a structured pharmacy TSP Method: The 35 students completed reflective academic assignments and cultural competency activities before and after the three-week visit to Bratislava. The students’ reflective exercises were analyzed using narrative and content analysis, allowing us to capture the multiple meanings and dimensions of the experiences. Results: The students’ narrations reflected a major impact on their professional growth, intercultural sensitivity and competencies. Participants identified major differences in legal and regulatory aspects of the profession. They highlighted the establishment of connections and international learning networks. Implications:We believe that these programs promote global citizenship, while fostering learning and cultural exchange within the pharmacy profession.