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OBJECTIVE: Describe the development, implementation, and assessment of a cocurricular program intentionally designed to foster professional identity formation at a private institution. METHODS: A cocurricular committee was established which developed a cocurriculum program in 3 phases. The committee utilized a gap analysis to inform the development of a continuing-education-based elective program (phase I), broadened program components and enhanced assessment (phase II), and continued to strengthen select areas of the affective domains through a second gap analysis and implement a summative assessment (phase III). RESULTS: Over 2 academic years, the completion rates for reflections, continuing education programming, and community outreach in the most recent academic year were consistently above 80% by the final due date. Rates of the mentor-mentee meetings fell below 50%; however, this component is tracked by the faculty member and not the students. Community outreach monitoring was managed by the committee for the first time in the 2021-2022 academic year and completion rates increased from 64% to 82%. Student reflections indicated consistent progression toward practice readiness from first- to third-year pharmacy students. For the Pharmacy Affective Domain Situational Judgment test, 22% and 16% of first-year pharmacy students were flagged during the first and second year implemented, respectively, and only 8% of the third-year pharmacy students were flagged in both years. CONCLUSION: Utilization of a cocurricular committee has been vital for the development, progression, and assessment of the cocurriculum at a single private institution.

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Objective. With the integration of the affective domain in the pharmacy accreditation standards, it is important for programs to have methods for formatively assessing student competency in these areas. The objective of this study was to examine the validity evidence for a recently developed situational judgment test to assess the affective domain contained in the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) Standards 2016.Methods. After pilot testing items in multiple pharmacy schools, a revised 15-item situational judgment test instrument was developed measuring the affective domain as it relates to the pharmacy profession. The resulting Pharmacy Affective Domain Situational Judgment Test (PAD-S) was administered to students at three institutions and internal structure validity evidence was examined using item descriptives, Cronbach alpha, and results from a Rasch measurement model.Results. There were 559 valid responses included in the study. The items were of varying difficulty, with Rasch results confirming the hierarchy of items and suggesting that items were contributing to the measure. The Cronbach alpha was 0.70, suggesting acceptable reliability. However, the reliability items from the Rasch model were lower (0.65 and 0.66), indicating that the ranking of ability was limited, which may be due to fewer items of high difficulty.Conclusion. Overall, the PAD-S performed well as a measure of the affective domain. The PAD-S may be a useful formative instrument as part of a comprehensive assessment plan and may be less resource intensive than other measures.

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Objective. For pharmacy students to successfully meet competencies related to Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education Standards 3 and 4, it is essential for pharmacy programs to assess student progression in the affective domain. The purpose of this study was to develop and assess the validity of a situational judgment test (SJT) for evaluating student mastery of Standards 3 and 4.Methods. A multi-institutional faculty team developed an 18-item SJT that consisted of scenarios asking the respondent to rank the effectiveness of four response options mapped to Standards 3 and 4. The research team systematically reviewed the literature, created items, and deliberated until consensus was achieved. Subject matter experts (SMEs) reviewed and provided feedback on the instrument. Students from two institutions were recruited to participate in cognitive interviews about the finalized instrument. Cognitive interview data were analyzed to identify themes.Results. After edits were made to the instrument based on SME feedback, students (n=18) in the cognitive interviews identified item length as a concern and commented on item/response clarity and comprehensiveness. Data from the cognitive interviews were used to modify the SJT to reduce the length and clarify items. The result was two shorter versions of the instrument, both with similar mapping to all elements in Standards 3 and 4.Conclusion. Early steps in validating the SJT suggested that the instrument may be a promising tool to assess student progression in the affective domain. The SJT instrument is intended to provide evidence of student pharmacist development that occurs in the didactic, experiential, and co-curricular portions of pharmacy education. The instrument can serve as one part of a comprehensive assessment plan.

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BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Today's pharmacists must be "team-ready." While team-based learning is ubiquitous in pharmacy education, little data exists for fostering team-building skills in healthcare education. This study evaluates the effect of an escape room-themed team-building exercise on pharmacy student experiences and perceptions of working in teams using StrengthsFinder 2.0 as a framework. EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY AND SETTING: Second and third professional year pharmacy students were divided into teams of four to five. Each team competed in a puzzle-based simulated "escape room". Students completed pre- and post-surveys regarding perceptions of working in teams and team dynamics after reviewing their StrengthsFinder 2.0 results. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and a related-samples McNemar test for statistical significance. Qualitative data from open-ended questions were analyzed to determine common themes among student answers. FINDINGS: Of the 137 enrolled students, 127 participated in the activity and surveys. Sixty percent of teams successfully completed the activity on time. All but one statement ("I am an integral member of the team") showed a statistically significant increase in those strongly agreeing or agreeing pre- to post-exercise. The largest shift was seen for the statement "I enjoy working in a team environment". Thematic analysis of qualitative data revealed that students felt harnessing their individual talents made the teams stronger. SUMMARY: This exercise positively impacted student perceptions of working in teams. Further research should determine the effect of pre-requisite team-building exercises on team-based learning outcomes.

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BACKGROUND: Drug therapy problems, which are adverse events involving medications that can ultimately interfere with a patient's therapeutic goals, occur frequently in older adults. If not identified, resolved, and prevented through clinical decision-making, drug therapy problems may negatively affect patient health outcomes. OBJECTIVE: To quantify the impact of pharmacist interventions on the care of older adults by identifying the most common drug therapy problems, the medications most often involved in these problems, and the actions taken by pharmacists to resolve these problems. METHODS: This retrospective chart review included individuals seen by a geriatric pharmacist in one geriatric practice, where 4 pharmacists provide continuous, comprehensive medication management across 2 outpatient geriatric clinics, skilled-nursing facilities, and assisted-living facilities. The individuals were seen between August 2014 and November 2015. For all patient care encounters during this time frame, pharmacists used the Assurance System to document each drug therapy problem, the medications involved, the patient's care setting (ie, outpatient clinic, assisted-living facility, skilled-nursing facility), the actions taken to resolve any drug therapy problems, and the estimated 90-day impact on the patient and the healthcare system. RESULTS: A total of 3100 drug therapy problems were identified during 3309 patient-pharmacist encounters for 452 patients (mean age, 81.4 years), 48.7% of whom were seen in the skilled-nursing facility. The most common drug therapy problem was dose too low, followed by dose too high, and warfarin was the most common drug associated with drug therapy problems. Pharmacists provided 4921 interventions, often more than 1 intervention per drug therapy problem, for 275 different medications. Laboratory monitoring and dose change were the most common interventions, with an estimated annual financial savings between $268,690 and $270,591. CONCLUSION: Older patients are a vulnerable patient population who often receive unsafe medication regimens, which can result in adverse drug reactions and other critical problems. When integrated into interprofessional geriatric care teams, pharmacists' interventions provide an invaluable qualitative and monetary resource to the medication-based management of patients with well-recognized, high-risk geriatric syndromes as they transition to and through various levels of care.

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Objective. To describe the redesigned assessment plan for a patient safety and informatics course and assess student pharmacist performance and perceptions. Methods. The final examination of a patient safety course was redesigned from traditional multiple choice and short answer to team-based, open-ended, and case-based. Faculty for each class session developed higher level activities, focused on developing key skills or attitudes deemed essential for practice, for a progressive patient case consisting of nine activities. Student performance and perceptions were analyzed with pre- and post-surveys using 5-point scales. Results. Mean performance on the examination was 93.6%; median scores for each assessed course outcome ranged from 90% to 100%. Eighty-five percent of students completed both surveys. Confidence performing skills and demonstrating attitudes improved for each item on post-survey compared with pre-survey. Eighty-one percent of students indicated the experience of taking the examination was beneficial for their professional development. Conclusion. A team, case-based examination was associated with high student performance and improved self-confidence in performing medication safety-related skills.

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