Objective. To determine the extent and manner in which global health education is taught at US PharmD programs. Methods. A pre-tested 40-question electronic survey instrument was developed and sent to each of the 127 accredited or candidate-status US doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) programs. Results. Twenty-eight public and 27 private PharmD programs responded to the survey (43.3%). Twenty-five (45.5%) programs had integrated global health topics into their required didactic curriculum, and 30 of 52 programs (57.7%) offered at least one standalone global health elective course. Of the 52 programs that provided details regarding experiential education, 41 (78.8%) offered introductory and/or advanced pharmacy practice experiences (IPPEs and/or APPEs) in global health, and 34 (65.4%) programs offered medical mission trips. Conclusion. Doctor of pharmacy programs participating in global health education most commonly educate students on global health through experiential learning, while inclusion of required and elective coursework in global health was less common. To adequately prepare students for an increasingly global society, US PharmD programs should consider expanding global health education.

OBJECTIVE: Assess first-professional year pharmacy (P1) students’ grades and preferred teaching styles within a multi-modal teaching approach for a cultural competency during a required Pharmaceutical Care I course.METHODS: A didactic lecture, 2 active learning exercises (global bead and trading places) and an in-class quiz were used to teach students about cultural competency leading into a practicum. A four hour practicum consisting of: videos, structured discussion, counseling, and a 5-point Likert scale survey was utilized in this multi-modal approach. Student quiz and practicum grades, and survey results were analyzed with descriptive statistics. Reflection responses were collected.RESULTS: Students scored an average of 86.1% on the in-class quiz and 92.6% on the practicum. Average rankings on the Trading Places exercise demonstrated a change in their individual biases. Students perceived the practicum, lecture, and Worlds Apart videos to be the most useful (4.26, 4.15, and 4.06 respectively).CONCLUS...

Purpose. A practice-based learning experience designed to expose postgraduate year 1 (PGY1) and 2 (PGY2) residents to and prepare them for a career as clinical faculty is described. Summary. A practice-based learning experience was designed to give PGY1 and PGY2 residents exposure to the responsibilities of a clinical faculty member, integrating clinical practice, preceptor duties, and other academia-related responsibilities. The learning experience is a four-week, elective rotation for PGY1 and PGY2 residents. The rotation is designed to correspond to a four-week advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) rotation, allowing the resident to work continuously with the same one or two APPE students for the entire rotation. The resident is required to design and implement a rotation for the students and provide clinical services while integrating students into daily tasks, facilitating topic and patient discussions, evaluating assignments, providing constructive feedback, and assigning a final rotation grade. The resident also attends all academic and committee meetings and teaching obligations with his or her residency director, if applicable. The resident is mentored by the residency director throughout all phases of the rotation and is evaluated using goals and objectives tailored to this experience. Conclusion. The development of a formal, structured rotation to give postgraduate residents experience as a preceptor provided an opportunity for residents to further explore their interests in academia and allowed them to serve as a primary preceptor while being guided and evaluated by a mentor.

There is a significant amount of diversity among heart failure (HF) patients. Contemporary HF regimens often do not take into consideration many of the factors that might influence an individual's response to treatment. Clinical recommendations based on trial data derived from mainly younger Caucasian male study populations have, in most cases, been applied equally to women and African-Americans. Subgroup analyses of randomized HF trials and results of retrospective cohort studies have been used for customizing HF regimens in women and African-Americans. Pharmacogenetics is an emerging strategy for personalizing HF therapy. Genetic biomarkers may play an important role in predicting a patient's response to treatment and in predicting those at risk of toxicity. HF pharmacotherapy has improved over the last two decades; however, substantial work remains in order to personalize HF management and maximize the benefit of pharmacologic interventions, while limiting adverse events.