Health-system implementation of a collaborative core curriculum for advanced pharmacy experiential education during the COVID-19 pandemic

DOI

10.1093/ajhp/zxab073

Authors

Courtney A. Montepara, Division of Pharmacy Practice, Duquesne University School of Pharmacy, Pittsburgh, PA, and Allegheny General Hospital, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Rebecca R. Schoen, Division of Pharmacy Practice, Duquesne University School of Pharmacy, Pittsburgh, PA, and Greentree Medical Associates, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Anthony J. Guarascio, Division of Pharmacy Practice, Duquesne University School of Pharmacy, Pittsburgh, PA, and Allegheny General Hospital, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Jamie L. McConaha, Division of Pharmacy Practice, Duquesne University School of Pharmacy, Pittsburgh, PA, and Primary Care Professionals, Canonsburg, PA, USA.
Paula J. Horn, Allegheny Health Network, Pittsburgh, PA, and Allegheny General Hospital, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

5-6-2021

Publication Title

American journal of health-system pharmacy : AJHP : official journal of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists

Volume

78

Issue

10

First Page

890

Last Page

895

Keywords

APPE, COVID-19 pandemic, curriculum, experiential education, health system, remote learning

Abstract

PURPOSE: A collaborative advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) education model established within a healthcare institution during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is described. SUMMARY: The COVID-19 pandemic caused a nationwide disruption of APPE pharmacy education. Healthcare institutions faced the challenge of educating APPE students while attempting to simultaneously de-densify work areas and reduce transmission risk for employees and patients. A pharmacist coordinator and pharmacist academic partners at a large teaching hospital created a collaborative common core curriculum model for resourceful implementation of APPE education. Healthcare network pharmacists, clinical pharmacist academic partners, and pharmacy residents delivered the curriculum to 35 pharmacy students over a 9-week time period. Main components of the curriculum included patient case discussions, topic discussions, journal club presentations, live continuing education (CE) webinars, and development of pharmacy technician CE programs. A majority of students reported positive experiences working with a variety of preceptors from different specialties (81%) and collaborating with students from other universities (62%). CONCLUSION: A health system can leverage institutional, network-wide, and academic partner resources to implement a collaborative APPE curriculum during challenging times such as those experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Open Access

Green Final

Repository Citation

Montepara, C. A., Schoen, R. R., Guarascio, A. J., McConaha, J. L., & Horn, P. J. (2021). Health-system implementation of a collaborative core curriculum for advanced pharmacy experiential education during the COVID-19 pandemic. American journal of health-system pharmacy : AJHP : official journal of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, 78 (10), 890-895. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajhp/zxab073