American journal of pharmaceutical education
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The 2013 American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) White Paper by O'Connell et. al introduced instructional approaches and resources for assessing health disparities (HD) and cultural competency (CC) training within the pharmacy curriculum. Instructional standards such as the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) Standards 2016 have been updated to state the importance of teaching "cultural awareness" and exposure to "diverse populations" within pharmacy curricula. There remains a gap in understanding how various programs should implement these concepts. ⋯ Without this approach, students may lose key skills and be unable to deliver culturally responsive, patient-centered care upon graduation. In this themed issue, five papers will introduce areas for HDCC inclusion and explore how these topics are currently being covered in pharmacy education. Recommendations on best practices are provided.
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Instructors of pharmacy skills-based laboratory courses are positioned to prepare students to be practice-ready practitioners through use of hands-on instructional activities essential for pharmacists. This commentary explores an approach to developing cultural sensitivity in pharmacy students, a skill which is reflected in Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) Standard 3.5 and viewed by the authors as a critical skill for all healthcare practitioners. ⋯ The authors propose, using the model of self-efficacy theory as a framework, that skills-based pharmacy education is an ideal platform for cultural sensitivity skill development and engagement because of its ability to go beyond knowledge attainment and influence student abilities, behaviors, and attitudes. The authors' recommendations include that members of the Academy self-assess personal and institutional cultural sensitivity, ensure integration of cultural sensitivity in curriculum, use self-efficacy theory as a guide to integrate best practices for providing culturally sensitive care in laboratory activities, and develop best practices.
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An important topic in conversation on the education of pharmacy students has evolved around methods of pedagogy and assessment, and attention to diversity and inclusion. Well-intentioned educators may introduce bias into their teachings and assessment tools by focusing on diseases with a higher rate of presentation in minorities, without engaging in conversations as to why these health disparities may exist. When considering the content and structure of a curriculum, it is also important to review its assessment tools, with attention to cultural humility in multiple-choice examinations, case-based presentations and even observed structured clinical examinations. ⋯ By writing test items that are culturally responsible, unconscious bias can be reduced and test items can better measure the knowledge that educators intend to assess. As pharmacy educators perform programmatic reviews, attention should be directed towards unconscious bias not only in the curricula but also in its evaluation and assessment tools.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARYEXECUTIVE SUMMARY The 2020-2021 AACP Research and Graduate Affairs Committee (RGAC) continued the work begun by the 2019-2020 RGAC to increase awareness of and capacity for implementation research to advance practice transformation in academic pharmacy. AACP President Anne Lin charged the RGAC with developing resources and programs for training faculty and graduate students in implementation science. The committee was further charged with developing a mechanism to pair pharmacy faculty and implementation experts on practice advancement projects. ⋯ AACP support for these collaborations should begin prior to any such matching event, for example by helping pharmacy faculty articulate the scope and value of their proposed practice advancement projects, and extend beyond the initial match to include assisting nascent collaborations establish connections and secure institutional and external backing. The RGAC made specific recommendations to AACP about how the framework and proposed programs could be used to further develop pharmacy faculty and graduate students as researchers while advancing the goal of sustainable transformation of pharmacy practice. A key recommendation is that AACP cultivate an inclusive community of interest in implementation science in pharmacy that will promote adoption of the framework, act as facilitators and coaches for training programs and assist in planning and supporting collaborative research projects.
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Objective. To determine the longitudinal impact of integrating health literacy and cultural competency content throughout the professional pharmacy curriculum and the impact of additional changes made to the curriculum based on the results of a longitudinal analysis. Methods. ⋯ Integrating health literacy and cultural competency content throughout the curriculum resulted in improvement in students' scores in these areas from the first to the fourth professional year, but when there were no integrated activities, scores dropped. Implementing additional activities improved student-perceived HL skills. Thus, it may be important to ensure there is inclusion of content in each semester of the curriculum to maximize effects.