Assessing student confidence and understanding with the immunization process through implementation of an immunization protocol at a school of pharmacy

Pharmacy Intern Involvement in COVID-19 Immunization Practices in New York State

“…DiDonato et al also reported that only 15% of respondents rated themselves as very confident in managing vaccine-related adverse events, which increased to only 17% after health fair participation. 28 …”

“…Although no statistically significant differences were identified before and after student participation in immunization opportunities, 52.8% of students reported themselves as very confident with vaccine administration prior to the event compared to 71.6% afterwards. 28 While the APhA Pharmacy-Based Immunization Delivery Certificate Program is among the most utilized by schools/colleges of pharmacy across the country, others, like the Collaborative Education Institute Immunization Training and the Minnesota College of Pharmacy Immunization Delivery Program are also available in select states, and many pharmacy programs incorporate immunization education as part of their curriculum in addition to the certificate program offered. 29 A potential gap in training currently offered by pharmacy colleges may be related to management of adverse drug events.…”

“…DiDonato et al also reported that only 15% of respondents rated themselves as very confident in managing vaccine-related adverse events, which increased to only 17% after health fair participation. 28 Students in this study participated in vaccination efforts in a variety of settings and formats with more students participating at work, followed by IPPE/APPE, followed by volunteer experiences. One reason more students participated through work is likely because most students work in a retail/community pharmacy setting.…”

Immunization training for pharmacy students: a student-centered evaluation

“…This recommendation is in line with findings reported in numerous Australian and international studies in the past decade, all varying in design. [16][17][18][21][22][23][24][25][26] Our study is the first to analyze intrastudent changes in four domains -Confidence, Self-Perceived Knowledge, Self-Perceived Skills and Attitudesand we recommend our use of a respondent-generated, replicable code to enable matching of pre-and posttraining questionnaires while retaining anonymity. Although the training curricula in previous Australian studies differed, they all aligned with the National Framework, which may explain this general consistency and build on the national and international evidence that students can administer vaccines safely.…”

“… 19 - 21 Similar to the extant Australian research, international studies were either limited to post-training evaluation or did not enable matching of pre- vs post-training responses, and therefore, intra-student change. 20 , 22 , 23 In one study, participants were assigned an indirect identifier to monitor changes in students’ confidence, which improved over various time points. 24 Some studies reported data from knowledge tests about immunization; while outcomes were positive, the reliability and validity of test answers cannot be assured in an anonymous survey.…”