An Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience for Community Pharmacies Based on a Clinical Intervention Targeting Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Abstract

Experiential education is a critical component of any pharmacy undergraduate curriculum. Establishing new, high-quality practice sites can be challenging. We designed a new advanced pharmacy practice experiential rotation suitable for implementation in most community pharmacy settings. The aim of this article is to describe the design of this rotation entitled the Targeted Pharmacy Intervention in Inflammatory Bowel Disease (TPI-IBD) and to determine its impact on student knowledge and confidence using a before-after survey design. The TPI-IBD utilizes a student-delivered intervention as a platform for experiential learning in community pharmacy practice. The TPI was focused on patients with IBD, and implementation was guided by a co-preceptor from the university in collaboration with onsite-preceptors at each pharmacy. The TPI-IBD rotation was delivered from 6 community pharmacies during 5 weeks in 2018. Students conducted standardized monitoring on patients with IBD and met weekly with the university preceptor for case presentations and therapeutic discussions. Electronic charts were maintained by students who were responsible for ensuring detailed documentation on each patient. Knowledge, confidence, and overall satisfaction were assessed by a survey given to students before and after the rotation. Students were highly satisfied with the learning experience and improvements in knowledge and confidence were clearly demonstrated. The TPI strategy was an effective way to expand rotation options in community pharmacy sites with minimal burden on local preceptors.

Primary care pharmacists’ knowledge and perception of Inflammatory Bowel Disease: a cross-sectional study in Australia.

“…Therefore, pharmacists are responsible for taking a prominent and proactive role in caring for patients with IBD (Prasad, Duncanson et al 2020). An adequate level of knowledge can help pharmacists to understand the needs of patients with IBD and be able to address them (Blackburn et al 2019;Zezos & Panisko 2018), such as regular monitoring for adverse effects, management of complex medication regimens, ensuring appropriate use of medications and lifestyle education and support (Massuger et al 2019;Strohl et al 2018).…”

“…This suggests that pharmacists' base their level of understanding of IBD management as limited and highlights a gap in knowledge where more comprehensive education is required . While knowledge can indeed be improved through educational sessions, there are still potential barriers (such as limited available time, and access to resources and guidelines), that require consideration for applicability in practice (Blackburn et al 2019;Tan et al 2012;Zezos & Panisko 2018).…”

“…Medication management is the keystone for treating patients with IBD (Gastroenterological Society of Australia 2018; Georgy, Negm & El-Matary 2019). The treatment of IBD has advanced in recent years, making medical therapy more effective; however, it has also become more complex with the use of corticosteroids, immunosuppressants and biological therapies that have risk-benefit profiles that require careful monitoring (Blackburn et al 2019;Zezos & Panisko 2018).…”

“…Pharmacists often act as intermediaries between doctors and patients by providing easily accessible clinical advice and medicines without needing a pre-booked appointment (International Pharmaceutical Federation 2019;Manolakis & Skelton 2010). They are generally the initial source of contact for patients with minor gastrointestinal ailments because of the over-the-counter (OTC) medications that can play a critical role in their care (Blackburn et al 2019). Therefore, engagement of pharmacists provides an opportunity for improving clinical outcomes in a primary care setting (Blackburn et al 2019;Manolakis & Skelton 2010).…”

“…They are generally the initial source of contact for patients with minor gastrointestinal ailments because of the over-the-counter (OTC) medications that can play a critical role in their care (Blackburn et al 2019). Therefore, engagement of pharmacists provides an opportunity for improving clinical outcomes in a primary care setting (Blackburn et al 2019;Manolakis & Skelton 2010).…”