Objective. To establish statewide medication, disease management, and other clinical programs to serve as advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) training sites for the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center School of Pharmacy, and to guarantee year-round support for the programs by providing pharmacy students with the necessary competencies to carry a significant proportion of each program's workload. Methods. Partnerships with pharmacies willing to use students to expand their scope of clinical practice or support existing programs were established. Partners were asked to choose the clinical program(s) they wished implemented or supported and were guaranteed that APPE students would contribute to carrying each program's clinical service workload for 48 week/year under the supervision of the partners' pharmacists. In addition, partners implementing new programs were offered other support, including equipment, supplies, and training and mentoring for their pharmacists. Evaluation. Twenty-two partnerships involving anticoagulation, diabetes, immunization, medication reconciliation, and other clinical programs were established with hospital, community, and community health center pharmacies. The partnerships provided 213 APPE placements in the 2006-2007 academic year. Conclusion. This work demonstrates that by using innovative approaches, a pharmacy school can form new partnerships with hospital, community health center, and community pharmacies, as well as work with existing clinical programs, to create a variety of medication, disease management, and other APPEs to meet its increasing placement needs and evolving accreditation standards.

• to enhance students' insight into hospital pharmacy practice; and• to enhance students' appreciation for different types of pharmacy practice. Each course comprises an introductory class, eight 90-minute visits to a community pharmacy, two 90- Three introductory pharmacy practice experiential (IPPE) courses were developed to improve students' ability to utilize the CAPE competencies. The primary components of each course were 8 community pharmacy visits to conduct counseling on nonprescription medication, health promotion, and disease prevention, and 2 visits to introduce students to hospital pharmacy practice. The primary assessment method was based on the CAPE competencies. Students were required to write statements that described their patient care activities in relation to specified CAPE competencies. The competency statements were graded as "exceeds expectations," "meets expectations," or "below expectations" by comparison with defined levels of performance and, to pass each course, students were required to receive a preset number of grades of "exceeds expectations" or "meets expectations." Students and preceptors agreed that the courses' objectives were met and that the students performed valuable work. Three competency-based IPPE courses that allow students to provide valuable nonprescription medication, health promotion and disease prevention patient care services have been successfully introduced.

Objectives. To implement and assess the effectiveness of a program to teach pharmacy students the importance of taking personal responsibility for their health. Design. The My First Patient Program was created and lectures were incorporated into an existing firstyear course to introduce the concepts of health beliefs, behavior modification, stress management, substance abuse, and nutrition. Each student received a comprehensive health screening and health risk assessment which they used to develop a personal health portfolio and identify strategies to attain and/ or maintain their personal health goals. Assessment. Student learning was assessed through written assignments and student reflections, followup surveys, and course evaluations. Students' attainment of health goals and their ability to identify their personal health status illustrated the positive impact of the program. Conclusion. This program serves as a model for colleges and schools of pharmacy and for other health professions in the instruction of health promotion, disease prevention, and behavior modification.

ObjectiveTo assess the impact of a national immunization training certificate program on the perceived knowledge, skills and attitudes of pharmacy students toward pharmacy-based immunizations.MethodsThe study design utilized a pre- and post-survey administered to pharmacy students before and after the American Pharmacists Association’s (APhA) Pharmacy-Based Immunization Delivery program. The primary outcome explored was a change in the perceived knowledge, skills, and attitudes of the pharmacy students. A five-point Likert scale (i.e. strongly agree = 5, strongly disagree = 1) was used for measuring the main outcomes, which was summated by adding the individual item scores in each section to form a composite score for each outcome.ResultsThe certificate training program resulted in a significant improvement in knowledge (38.5% increase in score, p<0.001) and skills (34.5% increase in score, p<0.001), but not attitudes (1% increase in score, p=0.210).ConclusionsThe national immunization training certificate program had a positive impact on the perceived knowledge and skills of pharmacy students. However, no change was observed regarding students’ perceived attitudes toward pharmacy-based immunizations.

There are many local and global volunteer opportunities for pharmacists to contribute to public health initiatives that help promote health, prevent disease and improve access to care. This article provides perspective and guidance for pharmacists and student pharmacists who desire to take part in volunteer initiatives related to local and global public health needs. The case examples provided are limited to activities that occurred strictly in a volunteer capacity. Pharmacists serving in a volunteer capacity have an opportunity to broaden their depth of practice and patient care responsibilities. Their skills sets and knowledge can be applied in a variety of public health settings to help meet the health care needs of the communities and patients they serve. Emergency response and caring for the underserved are recurring themes within the volunteer opportunities afforded to pharmacists. Examples include, but are not limited to, the US Medical Reserve Corps, health departments, health centres and clinics, medical service trips and disaster relief. Regardless of setting, the volunteer pharmacist will need to consider scope of practice limitations and certain legal protections. An array of volunteer opportunities exists for pharmacists and student pharmacists in the public health arena. Participating in these events allows pharmacists to expand their practice experiences while contributing to public health needs and outreach.