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Experiential Faculty


College of Pharmacy, 1295 N. Martin
PO Box 210202, Tucson, Arizona 85721
Phone: (520) 626-1427

445 N. 5th St., Ste.120
Phoenix AZ 85004
Phone: (602) 293-3222
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Longitudinal Drug Information Manual

PhPr 803 F and PhPr 803 G

Applied Evidence-Based Pharmacy Practice

Primary Instructor: Kevin P. Boesen, Pharm.D.

Additional Instructor: Rebecca Malone, Pharm.D.

Introduction

Goals and Objectives

Assignments

Project Forms

Tools for Students

Evaluation and Grading

Patient Privacy and Confidentiality

Scholastic Integrity

 

INTRODUCTION
Drug information (DI) skills are essential for all pharmacists. DI skills not only involve
answering specific drug therapy-related questions and drug literature evaluation,
but also broader medication use policy issues such as formulary management,
pharmacoeconomics, adverse event and medication error identification and reporting,
and assessment and use of systematic reviews (practice guidelines, etc.). The
application of DI skills, like all pharmacy skills, requires a practitioner who can
communicate effectively.

The experiential drug information component of the curriculum is conducted longitudinally during the entire rotation year. Since these skills are needed in all facets
of pharmacy practice, it is logical to provide the student with such experiences in all
rotations and to assess the quality of the students’ DI performance within each rotation.

Each student will be responsible for their DI-related activities while on various rotations. The student is to complete DI-related projects relevant to each rotation site. Therefore, the student should work closely with the their preceptor to identify the best projects. The goal is to provide "real world" DI experience.

 

GOALS

1. Develop competency in providing drug information, evidence-based practice, and
medication use policy services.
2. Understand the role and use of drug information, evidence-based practice, and
medication use policy services in a variety of practice settings
3. Improve and enhance written and verbal communication skills

 

OBJECTIVES
After completion of PhPr 803 F & G, the student should be able to do the following:
1. Identify drug information questions from various practice settings
2. Respond to requests for drug information in a timely manner
3. Obtain accurate and thorough background information necessary to respond to the
drug information question
4. Systematically and efficiently search appropriate drug information sources
5. Use appropriate primary, secondary and tertiary reference sources in providing
answers to drug information questions
6. Critically analyze and synthesize information from tertiary, secondary, and primary
sources as appropriate
7. Formulate clinically relevant drug information responses to optimize patient care
and outcomes
8. Document in an understandable and accurate manner all appropriate information
from drug information questions in an electronic method designed for this purpose
9. Identify adverse drug events and medication errors in various practice settings
10. Document all appropriate information from adverse drug events and medication
errors in an electronic method designed for this purpose
11. Report adverse drug events and medication errors to appropriate individuals and
organizations (e.g., Medwatch)
12. Evaluate primary literature, such as a randomized, controlled trial, and determine its
application to clinical practice
13. Research and prepare a formulary drug monograph that would be appropriate for
consideration by a Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee or other formulary
management group
14. Participate in a pharmacy-related meeting associated with drug therapy issues
(e.g., Pharmacy & Therapeutics Committee, Arizona State Board of Pharmacy) in a
health care institution or setting
15. Review and evaluate an evidence-based practice guideline published (electronic
and/or print) by a national or international professional organization or
governmental agency
16. Effectively communicate drug information to other health professionals and/or
patients verbally and in writing
17. Maintain a portfolio
18. Assure patient privacy and confidentiality in all drug information activities

 

ASSIGNMENTS

The following assignments are required to receive a Passing ("P") grade.

During the student’s first four rotations (PhPr 803F), the following items are to be completed.

 

During the student’s last three rotations (PhPr 803G), the following items are to be completed.

 

Any one (1) of the following assignments is required to receive a Superior ("S") grade.

Links to Grading Forms: 803F    803G

 

PROJECT FORMS (preceptors may approve the use of different site-specific forms)

Drug Information Responses (click link to access form)

Drug information questions should be selected based on the following criteria.

1. The request requires a great deal of research (i.e., Medline search and review of primary literature) and preparation.
2. The answer is of sufficient value to keep for future reference.

Responses should have three primary sections:

1. An introduction or background.
2. Your findings from the literature review including a synopsis of each pertinent study with any inadequacies or deficiencies noted.
3. Your recommendations or conclusions to answer the request.

Do not rely on review articles or textbooks to answer the questions although these
sources can be helpful for developing your introduction. When submitting draft
copies of the response to your preceptor, provide copies of reference materials as
well as the search strategy or history. Expect to revise the response after receiving feedback from your preceptor.


Adverse Drug Event Report (click link to access form)

Medication Error Report (click link to access form)

Students in all patient care settings should be actively monitoring for potential and
actual adverse drug events and medication errors. Each rotation site may use a
somewhat different method of reporting, and the student should be oriented to such
procedures during the overall rotation orientation.

Formulary Drug Monograph (click link to access form)

The student is required to complete one Formulary Drug Monograph. This can be done either in the Fall or Spring semester (see assignments), and it should be completed at a site where formulary drug monographs are routinely produced and utilized (e.g., hospitals, managed care organizations). The student should review material covered in PhPr 861c " Drug Literature Evaluation" prior to beginning this activity. The preparation of a drug monograph may take a significant amount of time and should be initiated early enough to assure successful completion. Successful completion of the monograph will require an extensive literature search and review. The rotation preceptor who is evaluating the monograph may require several revisions of the written monograph. If possible, the student should be involved in presenting the monograph to the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee. Modifications to monographs obtained via a subscription service are not acceptable for submission.

A standardized format for the monograph is not required. The monograph format used at the rotation site for which it is prepared should be used.

Journal Club (click link to access form)

Students will present a minimum of 1 article in a Journal Club format. This can
be completed either in the first four rotations or in the last three rotations (see assignments). Journal clubs allow a group of practitioners to critically assess and discuss new scientific information regarding drug therapy. Practice sites may differ somewhat in the format of journal clubs. Students are asked to follow the format of the practice site and any forms specific to that practice site. The form linked above can be used if the practice site does not have a specific format.

Practice Guideline Evaluation (click link to access form)

Practice guidelines are systematically developed statements used to assist practitioners and patients with decisions about appropriate health care for specific circumstances. Guidelines are being used with increasing frequency by individual clinicians and health systems. Because there are no widely used, standardized methods for guideline production and assessment, pharmacists must be able to identify those guidelines that are appropriate to apply in a particular practice setting.

Students (with the guidance of their preceptor) will select a guideline published (electronically or print) by a national or international professional organization (e.g. ASHP, American College of Physicians) or a governmental agency (e.g. NHLBI, UK NHS). Students, for the purpose of the DI experience, will not evaluate a guideline produced or adapted by a specific institution or health system (the VA health care system is an exception to this rule).

Pharmacy-Related Meeting (click link to access form)

Students are encouraged to attend multiple pharmacy-related committee or sub -
committee meetings in order to understand the activities of the pharmacy
department and practice management, in the context of medication use policy. Note
that attendance educational meetings (inservice, CE, etc.) does not meet the criteria
for this activity. Examples of relevant activities include attendance at committee
meetings such as Pharmacy and Therapeutics, Infection Control, Quality Assurance,
Medication Error, JCAHO preparation, and Arizona State Board of Pharmacy.
Ideally, the student should attend meetings that involve pharmacists, other health
professionals and management personnel.

 

TOOLS FOR STUDENTS

AGREE Instrument Training Manual for reference when completing practice guideline evaluations.

Citations guidelines provided in PhPr 861c "Drug Literature Evaluation - Applications."

To look up journal abbreviations, the Journals Database of the National Library of Medicine may be accessed from this link.

List of Journals Indexed for MEDLINE

Click on the "Journals database" link embedded in the first paragraph.  Once in, you may use the search limits or sorting functions available with the database to locate the journal of interest.

Dr. Slack's abstract describing a tool for assessing bias in randomized controlled trials.

 

EVALUATION AND GRADING

All assignments in the longitudinal DI experience will be evaluated by the rotation preceptors. The student should submit work for evaluation to the rotation preceptor early enough so that the evaluation and grading can be completed prior to the end of the rotation. Rotation preceptors will likely, after initial review of the activity, return the work for further revision by the student. All revisions must be completed no later than one week after the end of the rotation. If revisions are not completed on time, additional make-up assignments will be coordinated through the course instructor and not the preceptor.

Once the preceptor determines the student has completed a satisfactory assignment, they will sign the students grading form on the appropriate location. Students are asked to submit the grading forms to Lynda Klasky (fax: 520-626-7355) at the end of each rotation.

Links to Grading Forms: 803F    803G

A selection of each student's Drug Information Responses are graded by the course instructors. After the first four rotations and after the last three rotations, students will upload 3 Drug Information responses to TURNITIN.COM. Every student will receive an e-mail from turnitin.com with instructions to access and upload their Drug Information Responses. Turnitin.com is a web-based application. The site reviews content for originality. The intent is to provide the student with feedback regarding their ability to put highly technical content into their own words.

Students who successfully complete and submit each assigned activity by the defined deadline will receive a Passing (“P”) grade. Students who complete the additional assigments required to receive a superior grade by the defined deadline will receive a Superior ("S") grade. If assignments are completed, but not completed on time, the student may receive a "C" or "D".

If all assignments to be submitted are not successfully completed, the student will receive a grade of Incomplete (“I”) or a failing (“E”) grade; in either case, the student’s graduation may be delayed.

 

PATIENT PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) defines who may have
access to confidential patient information and how such information may be handled.
Other than the patient’s actual medical record or other forms being used by the
institution in the care of the patient, there should be no patient identifying information on
any of the materials you are using or submitting for this course. Nor should any patient
identifying information be used in discussions about patients unless the discussion is
with those directly involved with the patient’s care. Examples of patient identifying
information include full name, Social Security number and medical record number.

 

SCHOLASTIC INTEGRITY

Honesty is expected of all students.  Any compromise in scholastic integrity will not be tolerated.  To obtain detailed information, please refer to the University of Arizona Code of Academic Integrity at the following web site.

http://dos.web.arizona.edu/uapolicies/