Class of 2010 Abstract / OBJECTIVES: To determine the perceived level of stress pharmacy students experience related to academics and the methods they use to relieve that stress. METHODS: This was a descriptive cross-­‐sectional study. Questionnaires were administered to first, second, and third year University of Arizona College of Pharmacy students during regularly scheduled class time. Data on perceived level of stress, sources of stress, and methods of relieving stress were collected and analyzed. Data on average hours worked per week, marital status, number of children, age, gender, and number of professional organizations involved in were also collected. RESULTS: The stress survey was completed by a total of 182 students at the College of Pharmacy. The overall stress score was highest in the second year students, although the total score was relatively low (total score 18.7; p=0.04). The four items that resulted in the highest stress scores were exams and/or grades (stress score ≥ 2.1), amount of class material (stress score ≥ 1.8), financial responsibilities (stress score ≥ 1.8) and lack of free time (stress score ≥ 1.6). Stressful situations that the students felt the most during the semester were thinking about the things that they had to accomplish (score ≥ 3.2) and having to control the way they spend their time (score ≥ 2.6). Common stress relievers were spending time with family, friends and pets ( ≥ 27%), watching television or movies ( ≥ 22%) and exercising ( ≥ 17%). Of those students who exercised, >44% felt it helped relieve stress very much. CONCLUSIONS: Little difference in levels of stress was observed between the classes. Based on the results, pharmacy students at the University of Arizona do not appear to be excessively stressed. Spending time with family/friends/pets, watching TV/DVDs, and exercising were the most common ways of relieving stress.

Class of 2010 Abstract / OBJECTIVES: To determine what competencies students feel they learn the most from work, school and extracurricular experiences. METHODS: Questionnaires were administered during a regularly scheduled, required class for third year pharmacy students. Students rated 30 different competencies they felt they learned the most, intermediate, and least amount from work, school and extracurricular experiences. Data on years of work experience, type of work experience, average weekly hours, age, gender, and level of involvement in professional organizations was also collected. RESULTS: There were 63 students included in this study. Students who had a higher level of participation in extra-curricular activities were found to be significantly younger than those who had lower levels of participation (p = 0.05). Students worked on average 11.5 hours a week and had an average of 3.5 years pharmacy related work experience. More than half (>50%) of the competencies were perceived by the third year students to be learned the most in the classroom setting. The competencies students felt they learned the most in the classroom and work setting were from Domain 1: Patient care and Domain 2: Professionalism and management in health systems. Students characterized 80% of the competencies in Domain 3: Health improvement, wellness, and disease prevention to be most learned through extracurricular activities. CONCLUSIONS: It appears students feel they learn primarily in the classroom setting with similar amounts of competencies gained at work and through extracurricular activities.

Class of 2010 Abstract / OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to determine the relative amount of time committed to each content area of the ACPE guidelines for curricular content and the three “outcomes expected of graduates” domains of the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy and to identify potential areas of weakness within the current curriculum. METHODS: Course coordinators were emailed and asked to fill out a questionnaire that addressed the amount of time that was spent on a given topic during lectures. The questionnaire included all topics necessary for the education of all pharmacists according to the ACPE guidelines. Questionnaires were collected from all required courses in the Doctor of Pharmacy program curriculum. Each course coordinator was asked to respond to every section with a numerical value of 0-3, indicating the amount of time spent on each topic. RESULTS: Surveys were completed by all 37 course coordinators for required courses. 42 subsections were recommended to be reviewed by the curriculum committee. CONCLUSIONS: There is a need for revision to the ACPE guidelines. A detailed description of the time and depth of each content area that should be covered within the curriculum would provide further guidance to colleges of pharmacy. Since this is not currently available, the data collected should be used as a tool to determine possible areas of deficiency within the University of Arizona Doctorate of Pharmacy curriculum. These areas need to be addressed by the curriculum committee.

Class of 2010 Abstract / OBJECTIVES: To assess the comfort level of pharmacists and 4th year pharmacy students regarding their ability to develop business plans and their perception of available resources to help them. METHODS: A questionnaire sought information on the comfort level on multiple sections of a business plan: mission statement, executive summary, description of business/service, marketing, operations, and finances. The questionnaire was sent electronically to pharmacy preceptors and pharmacy students at The University of Arizona College of Pharmacy. RESULTS: Questionnaires were completed by a total of 94 pharmacists and student pharmacists (30% response rate). Of those 94 respondents, 55 were pharmacists, 35 were student pharmacists, and 4 were left unknown. Individuals between the ages of 21-29 were less comfortable with business plan concepts (p-values range from 0.005 to 0.028). Men were more comfortable with the business plan than women (all p-values <0.002). Pharmacists had shown to be more comfortable than student pharmacists in all areas of the business plan (all p-values <0.005). Forty-six percent of the individuals said there are currently not enough resources available and 83% of individuals said that there is a definite need for more training opportunities. Live, web-based CE courses and elective pharmacy curriculum courses were thought as the most beneficial training opportunities (29%, 30%, and 22%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: There is a need for more resources and training opportunities to improve the comfort levels that pharmacists and student pharmacists have for business plans in order to help implement new innovative ideas that will continue to expand pharmacy services.

Class of 2009 Abstract / OBJECTIVES: To determine if there is a correlation between student involvement in pharmacy organizations and self-reported professional development. METHODS: A cross sectional, prospective, print-based questionnaire was submitted to students in their last didactic year of the Doctor of Pharmacy program at one university. The questionnaire was administered during a well attended, regularly scheduled class and students self-assessed their professionalism on the Behavioral Professionalism Assessment and provided data on their degree of involvement in pharmacy professional organizations. RESULTS: The questionnaire was completed by 78 of 84 students (a 93% response rate). Nearly 94% of participants reported that involvement in pharmacy organizations played some role in their professional development and approximately 30% of these students based this opinion on participation, leadership, and networking opportunities offered by professional organizations. A significant positive correlation between self-reported professionalism and involvement (i.e., the number of: brown bags/health fairs and organizational meetings attended, p<0.05 for each) was identified. CONCLUSIONS: A relationship was identified between professionalism and involvement at one college of pharmacy. Further research should be conducted at other colleges of pharmacy to determine if these data can be generalized to the larger pharmacy student population.

Class of 2009 Abstract / OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to expand the current knowledge regarding opinions about the consequences of DTCA, specifically in terms of their implications for pharmacy practice. We evaluated this by examining student pharmacist attitudes toward DTCA and their perception of its practical ramifications as they progressed through pharmacy coursework. We also compared attitudes of student pharmacists’ with those of practicing pharmacists’ as previously published. METHODS: Students at the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy, enrolled in their 1st, 2nd, and 3rd year of coursework, completed a questionnaire with 16 Likert-scale items soliciting levels of agreement with statements regarding DTCA. Two direct questions about overall support for DTCA and experience with patient questions regarding DTCA were included. Demographic data was also collected. RESULTS: No difference was found between groups of students with respect to attitudinal statements regarding DTCA when analyzed by ANOVA (p>0.05). Similar results were found for overall support for DTCA as analyzed by Chi-square (p>0.05). There was a statistically significant difference in overall support for DTCA between students and pharmacists when assessed by Chi-square (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Pharmacists are more likely to not support DTCA, whereas student pharmacists are more likely to be uncertain of whether or not they support it. An obvious difference between these groups is practice experience, which probably increases exposure to DTCA. Though it is difficult to discern the cause of this difference in opinion, it may suggest a link between experience and attitudes toward advertising policy.

Class of 2007 Abstract / Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a difference between both graduating medical and pharmacy students in their capabilities to appropriately recognize drug-drug interactions that have led or can lead to serious toxicological consequences in humans. The hypothesis of this study was that there would be no difference between the ability of medical and pharmacy students to recognize potential drug-drug interactions. Methods: A two-page questionnaire was giving during the last semester before both the medical and pharmacy students graduate. The first page requested information about demographics, such as: gender, age, current educational program, previous education in healthcare, other degrees held, and average hours worked in healthcare per week for the past year. The second page contained 22 questions on potential drug-drug interactions. Also, there will be some questions that do not contain any drug-drug interactions. The students had four choices, in which they could answer. The choices were (1) The two drugs should not be used together (contraindicated), (2) The two drugs may be used safely together with monitoring, (3) The two drugs may be used safely together without monitoring, and (4) Not sure if the drugs can be used together. Results: Of the 168 questionnaires distributed, 51 were completed and returned. Forty-seven pharmacy students responded, while only 4 medical students responded. Pharmacy students correctly identified 38.4% + 11.7% of the interactions. The minimum correct responses was 13.6% and the maximum was 68.2% Pharmacy students without a bachelor of science (BS) performed slightly better than the students having a BS with a mean score of 40.0% + 3.0% and 37.1% + 9.0%, respectively. There was no significant difference between the groups (p = 0.42). Males had a mean score of 39.1% + 8.2%, while females had a mean score of 38.1% + 13.1%. There was no significant difference between the groups (p = 0.78). Also, there was no significant difference between the student’s age or how many hours they worked per week regarding the percent of correct responses.

Class of 2007 Abstract / Objectives: To design and assess a novel evaluation tool for advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs). Methods: APPE students and faculty of the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy (UA COP) completed an electronic survey assessing their level of agreement with nine questions regarding the evaluation tool’s format, content, and usefulness; they were also asked to select which of two grading systems, current (S, P, C, D, E) or alternate (pass/fail), they prefer. Results were compared with a 50% satisfaction benchmark using a Chi-square test (p<0.05). No identifying/demographic data was collected. Results: Surveys were completed by 48 of 107 eligible participants, giving a 45% response rate. The averaged response rank reflected agreement with all survey questions but number six. When compared to the benchmark, the results were significantly positive except for question number six (p=0.07). No significant difference existed between the current grading system group and the alternate group preferences (p=0.449). Conclusions: UA COP faculty and students should continue to use this evaluation tool to assess proficiency during the APPE portion of their college of pharmacy curriculum. The subjects responded positively to the evaluation, indicating that it is valuable to both faculty and students. Subjects, however, were reluctant to endorse that it facilitates communication between students and preceptors. Future changes to the adjectival scale, accessibility, and the grading system could be investigated.

Class of 2017 Abstract / Objectives: To determine whether pharmacy students were more willing to receive, administer, recommend and counsel patients about vaccinations after completing an immunization training program Methods: Anonymous and voluntary questionnaires administered on paper during a regularly scheduled class collected ratings of confidence on the willingness of first year pharmacy students to receive, administer, recommend and counsel about vaccinations prior to and after the completion of an immunization training program. Data on gender, age range, status of completion and source of the immunization training program completed was also collected. This study was approved by the University of Arizona Institutional Review Board (IRB). Results: Questionnaires were completed by 110 students at the Tucson and Phoenix campus. Students were equally willing (p=0.235) to receive all vaccinations, even if they were not required to by the UA COP, before and after the immunization training program.There was a statistically significant difference in the willingness to administer (p<0.001), to recommend (p=0.024) and to counsel (p<0.001) about vaccinations after completion of an immunization training program. Conclusions: Completing an immunization training program did not have influence on the willingness of pharmacy students to receive vaccinations. However, the results suggest pharmacy students are more willing to administer, recommend and counsel about vaccinations after the completion of an immunization training program.

Class of 2005 Abstract / Objectives: To compare the interest in and the utility of a clinical intervention documentation tool for Pharm.D. students and preceptors on the basis of gender, age, and years and type of practice. Methods: A web-based survey (pre and post) was administered to all willing subjects. The survey web page was accessed through email. Results: Pre-surveys were completed by 14 students and 4 preceptors. Post-surveys were completed by 3 students (only one of which used the tool) and one preceptor. Due to the poor response rate results on the post-survey and the preceptors pre-survey were not analyzed. For the students pre-survey there were no statistical differences between the men and women in regards to their age. No statistically significant differences were found for students thoughts on utility and usefulness of the documentation tool on the basis of gender. Also there was no statistical difference between the men and women about the likely hood of them using a documentation tool if it was available to them. Implications: This study found that students regardless of gender thought that a documentation tool may prove useful for preceptors and themselves. If a documentation tool was implemented it could provide important information of student activity to the preceptors as well as the College of Pharmacy.