Objective. To assess the impact of a 6-week patient/provider interaction simulation on empathy and self-efficacy levels of diabetes management skills in third-year pharmacy students. Design. Pharmacy students enrolled in a diabetes elective course were paired to act as a patient with diabetes or as a provider assisting in the management of that patient during a 6-week simulation activity. After 3 weeks, students switched roles. The simulation was designed with activities to build empathy. Assessment. The Jefferson Scale of Empathy (JSE) and a self-efficacy survey were administered to assess change in empathy and confidence levels from baseline to the end of the activity. Completion of the activity resulted in significant improvement in total JSE scores. Additionally, significant improvements in overall self-efficacy scores regarding diabetes management were noted. Conclusion. The 6-week patient/provider interaction simulation improved empathy and self-efficacy levels in third-year pharmacy students.

An awareness of how and where to search the education literature, and how to appraise it is essential to be a teacher scholar (an academic who takes a scholarly approach to teaching), to develop high quality education research, and to perform the scholarship of teaching and learning. Most pharmacy faculty scholars do not receive training in searching the education literature. Thus, a framework for searching the education literature is needed. The framework presented here on where and how to search for evidence in the education literature, referred to as the WHEEL for teaching, is meant to serve as a guide for faculty members in conducting comprehensive and exhaustive literature searches for the publication of scholarship of teaching and learning projects, educational research, or approaching one's teaching in a scholarly manner. Key resources to search and methods for searching the education literature are listed and described.

Objective. To evaluate how pharmacy programs administer and evaluate American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) Curriculum Quality surveys (CQS) for continuous quality improvement, and to compare usage across the academy to the Principles of Good Use: AACP Quality Perception Surveys document. Methods. A 27-item survey instrument examining how CQS surveys were utilized was created and administered between March and June 2019 to assessment contacts of accredited Schools and Colleges of Pharmacy (S/COP). Descriptive statistics were performed for each survey item. Results. Of the 140 programs invited to participate, 88 (62.8%) responded. CQS data were triangulated with additional existing data (39.8%) or additional data sources were collected for triangulation with the survey data (54.5%). Based on CQS data, programs reported modifications to curriculum (85.2%), communication (75.0%), student services (68.2%), policy/process (61.4%), and professional development (53.4%). Most programs reported the assessment lead was responsible for CQS oversight. Conclusion. Of respondents, 66% were familiar with the AACP "Principles of Good Use" document, and results indicate that institutions are generally following the recommendations. Survey analysis revealed that a significant number of programs are utilizing CQS data for making meaningful programmatic improvements. Future work should center on further development of best practices for S/COP to effectively use the CQS data for continuous quality improvement.

Objective: To evaluate the impact of nonnutritive sugar substitutes on glycemic control in patients with diabetes. Data Sources: A comprehensive review of the literature was conducted in PubMed (1966( -March 2012 and Scopus. A combination of MeSH terms and keywords were used, including acesulfame, aspartame, diabetes, neotame, rebiana, saccharin, stevia, and sucralose. Study Selection and Data Extraction: Clinical studies evaluating the impact of nonnutritive sweeteners on measures of diabetic control, including, but not limited to, blood glucose levels, postprandial blood glucose, and hemoglobin A 1c were selected for review. Searches were limited to only nonnutritive sweeteners available in the US. Data Synthesis: Nine clinical trials that evaluated nonnutritive sweeteners in a total of 490 patients with diabetes were found. Doses of sweeteners in the studies varied from below acceptable daily intake levels for 3 consecutive days to daily dosing for up to 18 weeks and up to 3.5 times the acceptable daily intake levels. No significant differences in overall effects on glycemic control and insulin response were found. Conclusions: Nonnutritive sweeteners do not appear to affect glycemic control in patients with diabetes. Patients should be counseled to maintain an appropriate energy balance in their diet, with or without the use of nonnutritive sweeteners.

No abstract