Class of 2005 Abstract / Objectives: To determine the change in knowledge regarding the prevalence, risk factors, transmission, and treatment of hepatitis C infections before and after an educational presentation to second year pharmacy students. Methods: Two questionnaires were administered to the study subjects. The pre-test was administered two weeks prior to the educational presentation and the post-test was administered immediately following the presentation. Students were required to attend the lecture, but participation in the pre- and post-tests was voluntary. The questionnaires addressed issues regarding general hepatitis C virus information as well as opinion questions surrounding the subject’s feelings about themselves and the disease state. Results: The mean number of correct responses on the post-test was significantly higher than the mean number of correct responses on the pre-test (p < 0.001). There was no statistically significant difference between males and females when comparing mean pre-test, post- test, and change between pre- and post-test scores. The data found no association between a student’s perceived risk level for developing hepatitis C and their knowledge about the hepatitis C virus, whether they had received prior hepatitis C testing, or the mean number of correct responses on either the pre-test or post-test. Implications: An educational presentation on hepatitis C is an effective tool to increase the knowledge of pharmacy students concerning the hepatitis C virus and its risks, prevalence, and treatment options.

Potential Pharm.D. students and graduate students -- lots of choices! This session targeted by Pharm.D. and graduate admissions stake-holders will describe how understanding career-decision-making processes can assist colleges and schools in developing and implementing interventions to foster Pharm.D. and graduate student recruitment. Attendees will explore mechanisms through which Pharm.D. and graduate programs can collaborate to promote evidence- and experience-informed career decisions among potential matriculants.

Increasing emphasis has been placed on improving clinician resilience and well-being due to concerning rates of burnout, depression, and suicide in healthcare professionals. Session participants will learn how multiple instiutions have created initiatives that promote a culture of health and well-being for students, staff, and faculty. Particpants will learn about practical strategies for performing an environmental scan of current culture and incorporating assessment tools, educational programs, and workplace wellness into their own organizational initiatives.

The purpose of this study was to design, develop, and administer an Objective, Structured Management Exam (OSME) on management skills for pharmacy students. Pharmacy preceptors for the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy participated in focus groups that identified business, management, and human resource skills needed by pharmacy graduates. Once the skills were identified, gaps were identified for inclusion into the OSMEs. The OSMEs evaluated pharmacy students' performance on four skills: 1) managerial communication (oral and written); 2) conflict resolution; 3) decision-making; and 4) professionalism. The OSME consisted of a role-playing and a writing document. Both were graded using a developed scoring rubric. The role-playing scoring rubric contained 17 skills and the written document scoring rubric contained 8 skills. During the OSME, students interacted with a trained actor and were graded by a judge on their performance. Upon completion of the OSME, students completed a 29-question survey on a) their perceived ability and confidence to accomplish 8 selected skills; b) their opinion about the OSME and suggestions to improve the process in the future; and c) their background characteristics. Many-facet Rasch analysis provided detailed information with which to evaluate content validity and student performance taking into account difficulty of skills, rating scale function of the scoring rubric, judge leniency and severity. Rasch analysis provided detailed information on the scale performance and student ability and confidence. A step-wise linear regression was used to determine if any student characteristics predicted a higher OSME performance score. Ninety-six student pharmacists completed the OSME and ninety-five students completed the questionnaire. No student failed the role-playing scenario and 1 student did not complete the written document. Significant gaps were calculated between the easiest two skills, empty sounds and eye contact. Additionally, the seventeen items did not align with student performance measures. Finally, there were two separate groups of graders. The writing document scoring rubric had poor fit with the model and significant gaps were calculated. Student measures did not adequately align with item difficulty measures. For students' perceived ability, there was no significant change in overall mean student ability scores from before the educational lectures to after the OSME. However, 46% of students (n=44) had a significant change in ability scores. Three significant gaps were calculated between skills a) between decision-making and communication and between communication and active listening on the pre-educational lectures; and b) between decision-making and communication on after the OSMEs. Students appeared confident with their ability on the 8 skills. The overall mean student confidence measure did not significantly change between the three time points: 1) before the practice cases; 2) after the practice cases; and 3) after the OSMEs. However, 46% of students (n=44) had a significant change in their confidence from before the practice cases to after the completion of the OSMEs. Item difficult measures did not appropriately align with student confidence measures, meaning the items were too easy for students. Significant gaps were also calculated: a) between the motivation and communication items and between the communication and active listening items in the before the practice cases responses; b) between the motivation and decision-making items and between the communication and active listening items for the after the practice cases responses; and c) between the motivation and decision-making items; between the decision-making and communication items; and between the communication and active listening items for after the OSME responses. Based on the result of the regression, three characteristics predicted a higher performance score on the role-playing portion of the OSME: 1) previous management experience; 2) previous leadership experience; and 3) the total grade on the educational lecture quizzes. Three characteristics predicted a higher writing document score: 1) age between 26 and 28 years; 2) English as the primary language; and 3) previous pharmacy experience classified as "other" (i.e., pharmacy experience that was not hospital, community, or managed care). This was one of the first studies to develop a role-playing exercise on management skills in pharmacy education. The grading rubrics provided an initial structure for assessing student performance on these management skills. Some changes to the ability questions and the rubrics are suggested in order to improve the content validity. The findings provide the outline for the use of an OSME at schools/colleges of pharmacy as part of their curriculum. As exposure to management scenarios showed higher performance, educators should include these skills in the education of student pharmacists in order to prepare them for a future career in pharmacy.

Class of 2012 Abstract / Specific Aims: To review overall quality of life (QOL) in active geriatric patients and to observe different attitudes toward aging in the student comparison groups. Subjects: Current students, regardless of academic year, attending the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy with a university email account. Methods: Data was collected using an electronic questionnaire. A link to the questionnaire was sent out via email to all University of Arizona, College of Pharmacy students. Another email containing the link to the questionnaire was sent two weeks after the initial notification. The questionnaire consisted of 36 questions requesting students to express their perspective on the health status, mental status and physical abilities of the elderly. Main Results: Geriatric patients tended to have a more positive view on their overall health when compared to students' perceptions of geriatric QOL (86.7% versus 35.7%, P <0.05). Students were also more likely to have the perception that geriatric patients had limitations in regular activities due to physical health and emotional problems when compared to the actual responses of older adults (72.6% versus 40.0%, P <0.05; and 60.0% versus 16.7%, P <0.05; respectively). There was a significant difference (P<0.05) between responses from students and geriatric patients to every question. Conclusions: There appears to be a noteworthy difference between pharmacy student perceptions of geriatric QOL and actual older adult QOL responses that may warrant an educational intervention.

Class of 2010 Abstract / OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of professional pharmacy educational training and occupational student pharmacist training towards the quantity of medication errors attributed to not investigating drug-drug interactions and/or not acknowledging contraindications for medications and treatment. METHODS: The design was a cross-sectional, analytical study of student pharmacists in their first, second, or third year of a four-year Doctor of Pharmacy program. A questionnaire of patient drug interaction scenarios along with student work experience and demographic survey questions was administered to a class of students to complete and return at the time it was administered. It was a prospective study. RESULTS: Questionnaires were completed by 180 students. None of the classes surveyed scored significantly higher than another class. Students with retail experience did not score significantly higher survey scores than those with hospital experience. Finally, when comparing the scores of students with experience in multiple fields, in comparison to those with experience in only one field of pharmacy, it was noted that there was no statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS: The amount of professional pharmacy education training and occupational student pharmacist experience was not found to have an affect on a student pharmacist’s ability to prevent medication error that was attributed to either not investigating a drug-drug interaction and/or not acknowledging contraindications for medications and treatment.

Class of 2009 Abstract / OBJECTIVES: To assess the ability of pharmacy, medicine, and nursing students to identify prescribing errors METHODS: Pharmacy, medicine, and nursing students from the University of Arizona were asked to participate in this prospective, descriptive study. Pharmacy and medical students in the last didactic year of their program and traditional bachelor of nursing students in the fourth semester of their program were eligible to participate. Subjects were asked to assess a questionnaire containing three sample prescriptions, evaluate if each was correct and indicate the type of error found, if any. The primary outcome measure was the number of correctly identified prescribing errors. The secondary outcome measure was the number of correct types of error found. Error identification rates for each group were calculated. Comparisons in these rates were made between pharmacy, medicine and nursing students. Chi square tests were used to analyze the nominal data gathered from various groups. RESULTS: Pharmacy students were significantly better able to identify errors than medical and nursing students (p<0.001). Pharmacy students were significantly better able to determine the type of error (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Overall, pharmacy students had higher prescribing error identification rates than medical and nursing students. More studies need to be done to determine the most appropriate way to increase prescribing error identification rates.

Class of 2009 Abstract / OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study is to evaluate and compare the DDI knowledge of pharmacy, medical, and nurse practitioner students who are beginning clinical clerkships. METHODS: This study utilized a prospective evaluation of DDI knowledge among healthcare professional students who were currently enrolled in their final didactic year at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, College of Pharmacy, or College of Nursing’s nurse practitioner course. Students were provided with 15 possible DDI pairs, and asked to select an appropriate management strategy for each pair. Management options included: “Avoid Combination,” “Usually Avoid Combination,” “Take Precaution,” “No Special Precaution,” and “Not Sure.” The primary outcome measure was the ability to correctly categorize each DDI pair into one of the five management responses. The secondary outcome measure was the number of clinically significant DDIs recognized. Analysis of variance was used to evaluate differences between groups. An alpha of 0.05 was set a-priori. RESULTS: Response rates were 61% for medical students (72 of 119), 82% for pharmacy students (64 of 78) and 100% for nurse practitioner students (29 of 29). The mean number correct for management strategies was comparable in the medical students (2.5, SD= 1.9) and nurse practitioner students (3.0, SD= 1.9), while the pharmacy students had a mean score of 6.1 (SD= 2.2) correct answers. There was a significant difference between the groups in correct responses (p< 0.001). In regards to student ability to identify interactions, the mean number correct was 10.1 (SD= 2.6), 5.0 (SD= 3.3), and 4.4 (SD= 3.0) for pharmacy, medicine, and nursing respectively (F= 60.6; p< 0.001). Post hoc analysis demonstrated that pharmacy students performed significantly better than medical and nurse practitioner students in regards to their ability to: 1) select management strategies for DDI pairs; and 2) identify a DDI interaction. No significant differences were found between the medical and nurse practitioner students. CONCLUSIONS: Pharmacy students demonstrated better knowledge than medical and nurse practitioner students with respect to identifying and selecting management strategies for possible DDIs. However, there is much room for improvement for all groups.

Class of 2007 Abstract / Objectives: To identify the characteristics shared by Arizona Health Sciences students who exercise regularly and the effects of exercise on their lives. Methods: This was a descriptive, cross-sectional study. Three focus groups were held to collect data on the participants’ history and pattern of regular exercise, reasons for engaging in physical activity, educational background on the importance of physical activity, views on role models, and level of productivity. Demographic data were collected on age, gender, marital status, weight, and height. Results: The AHS students who participated in the focus groups had a history of regular exercise, often since childhood, an ability to adapt their schedules to make time for exercise, and the use of exercise as a recreational or social activity. Stress reduction and health benefits were major motivators for participating in regular physical activity. However, only about 50 percent of the participants saw themselves as potential role models for their patients. Conclusions: The training of pharmacy and public health students may need to be revisited to include the promotion of physical activity and the importance of serving as role models. Focusing on how regular physical activity reduces stress and improves health may be more successful marketing techniques, as all of the participants listed these benefits as important. Because the other reasons varied between men and women, the marketing strategies may need to focus on different approaches for each gender; for example, the appearance benefits for men and the sleep and socializing benefits for women.

Objective. To assess the impact of a graduate student mentoring program on student interest in research and postgraduate education and on graduate student confidence in mentoring. Methods. Undergraduate and pharmacy students (mentees) and graduate students (mentors) were matched and participated in the study, which required them to engage in at least 2 discussions regarding research and careers. Mentees completed a pre- and post-assessment of their perceptions of research, postgraduate training plans, and perceptions about mentors. Mentors completed a pre- and post-assessment of their perceptions about themselves as mentors and their confidence in mentoring. Results. Although there were no significant differences among the mentees’ perceptions of research or the mentors’ confidence in mentoring, qualitative analysis indicated that the mentees’ perceptions of research improved and that the mentors believed their mentoring skills improved. Conclusions. Based on the results of the qualitative analysis, implementing a graduate student mentoring program may help improve students’ perceptions of research and graduate students’ confidence in mentoring, which could increase student interest in postgraduate education and prepare mentors for future leadership roles.