Although baseline self-confidence was high, key misperceptions were identified, indicating that nurses may not be aware of their knowledge deficits or misperceptions. This low-cost, 12-minute, online education was highly valued and effectively improved nurses' knowledge and perceptions.

Worldwide, dementia is the most important contributor to disability in elderly patients. Treating patients with dementia can be challenging for clinicians because of the numerous behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD). The Dementia Action Alliance and American Geriatrics Society Beers criteria promote nonpharmacological and behavioral treatments as first-line therapy to manage BPSD to avoid adverse events associated with antipsychotic medications. Some of the nonpharmacologic therapies proposed for BPSD include: music therapy (MT), light therapy, acupressure, aromatherapy, massage, and animal-assisted therapy. However, several are supported with only limited literature findings. Among these, MT has the most substantial data. MT has demonstrated benefit throughout mild-severe stages of dementia. The extended impact is attributed to associated brain pathology. MT's mode of delivery is essential to the evidencebased use of music interventions and delivery methods. The literature citations show that adequately trained individuals should ideally conduct several forms of MT to obtain optimal benefit. There are several studies investigating the impact of the various forms of MT on alleviating BPSD. Among the numerous reviewed studies, six trials and three meta-analyses were included in this article. While the literature conflicts, MT is noninvasive, poses little to no risk to patients, requires minimal training, and offers large potential for implementation in the patient-care setting. In addition, MT can have an important role in fostering student pharmacist development, because an emphasis on the aging demographic is becoming increasingly important.

Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD) include behaviors such as aberrant motor behavior, agitation, anxiety, apathy, delusions, depression, disinhibition, elation, hallucinations, irritability, and sleep or appetite changes. A student-led project to provide sensory stimulation in the form of "fidget blankets" developed into a community outreach program. The goal was to decrease the use of antipsychotics used for BPSD.

No abstract

Background: Medication adherence is one of the largest barriers to better patient outcomes today. As pharmacists and student pharmacists expand their roles with community outreach projects, they have the potential to make a huge impact on improving adherence. Objective: To improve medication adherence through patient counseling and constructive resources, and to determine patient preferences of adherence tools. Methods: Student pharmacists partnered with a 340B pharmacy to promote the importance of medication adherence. Patients were counseled in an initial 10 minute session, and then given the opportunity to receive one or more of the following adherence tools: a pill box, timer, reminder refrigerator magnets, calendar stickers, refill reminder phone calls and/or text message reminders. A pre-survey was conducted to establish the patients' baseline medication adherence using the validated ©Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (©MMAS-8). After three months, students conducted the post-survey via the ©MMAS-8 by calling the patients and asking them questions about the helpfulness of the adherence tools as well as the effectiveness of the initial counseling visit. Results: Sixty five patients with hypertension enrolled in the study, and 51 patients completed both the pre- and post-surveys. Patients improved from a 6.02 (SD +/- 1.62) average pre-score to a 6.83 (SD +/-1.25) average post score (p < 0.001). Pill boxes, text message reminders, and calendar stickers were respectively ranked as the top 3 most helpful tools studied. The refrigerator magnets were also considered helpful by most patients who used them. The timers were ranked the least helpful, mostly due to difficulty of use. Conclusion: Student pharmacists can have a positive impact on medication adherence through simple counseling and offering effective adherence tools.   Type: Student Project