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Objective. To assess the current state of advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPE) in the community setting in US PharmD programs accredited under Standards 2000. Methods. Two surveys were conducted to assess the current state of core advanced pharmacy practice experiences in the community setting in US PharmD programs accredited under Standards 2000. Results. Two surveys were conducted of 45 experiential program directors and 227 preceptors of community pharmacy experiences. A variety of quality assurance mechanisms were used to review sites and preceptors, including student evaluations, preceptor interviews, and the use of review councils. The majority of programs had a 1:1 preceptor-to-student ratio. The criteria used to identify preceptors and sites for the core community APPE were diverse. Required orientation/training sessions for preceptors were reported by 50% of experiential directors. Twenty percent of experiential directors indicated that interactions with preceptors focused on unprofessional student conduct some of the time. Conclusions. Experiential directors have done well to identify preceptors and practice sites that offer students the ability to engage in activities consistent with achieving the competencies outlined in the standards, but continued quality improvement is needed.

A 33-year-old woman with congenital heart disease and atrial and ventricular arrhythmias, managed over the long term with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator, epicardial pacing system, and amiodarone, experienced an increase in palpitations and a shock from her defibrillator. Evaluation revealed decreases in amiodarone and desethylamiodarone serum concentrations from previous levels. Rifampin had been added to her therapy 5 weeks earlier. Increases in amiodarone and desethylamiodarone concentrations were observed after an increase in the amiodarone dosage and discontinuation of rifampin. The time course suggested that the addition of rifampin led to reductions in serum concentrations of both the drug and metabolite.

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Objective. To assess the performance on the standardized licensure examination for graduates from "newly accredited" versus "more established" pharmacy programs. Methods. The performance of graduates from newly accredited programs (those receiving initial full accreditation since 1992) was compared with graduates of more established programs (those receiving initial full accreditation prior to 1992). North American Pharmacy Licensing Examination (NAPLEX) data for first-time test takers during the May-August window was compared for the years 2000 through 2003.Results. Small differences in scaled scores and first-time NAPLEX passing rates were found between graduates of newly accredited programs and graduates of more established programs. Conclusion. These results suggest that the accreditation review process for newly accredited programs is appropriately addressing quality education as related to passage of licensure examinations. Analysis of passing rates and scaled scores in the forthcoming years will be necessary to observe if these trends continue.