Education Commons^™

Pharmacy Student Self-Testing As A Predictor Of Exam Performance, David W. Stewart, Peter C. Panus, James Thigpen, Nicholas E. Hagemeier, Lauren K. Brooks

Nicholas E. Hagemeier

Objectives: To determine if benefit exists in allowing students to self-test over relevant material as they progress through a professional course. Method: A total of 1,342 multiple choice questions were developed for pharmacy students to self-test for a pathophysiology course. Prior to each examination, students were allowed to take online quizzes which were randomly generated and related to the exam content. Quizzes were scored immediately, and students were shown the incorrect questions along with all answer choices. A matrix of intercorrelations and repeated measures ANOVA were generated using PASW Statistics Version 19 (IBM, Armonk, NY) to evaluate number of quiz …

Student Performance In A Pharmacotherapy Oncology Module Before And After Flipping The Classroom, John B. Bossaer, Peter Panus, David W. Stewart, Nick E. Hagemeier, Joshua George

Nicholas E. Hagemeier

Objective. To determine if a flipped classroom improved student examination performance in a pharmacotherapy oncology module. Design. Third-year pharmacy students in 2012 experienced the oncology module as interactive lectures with optional case studies as supplemental homework. In 2013, students experienced the same content in a primarily flipped classroom. Students were instructed to watch vodcasts (video podcasts) before in-class case studies but were not held accountable (ie, quizzed) for preclass preparation. Examination questions were identical in both cohorts. Performance on examination questions was compared between the two cohorts using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), with prior academic performance variables (grade point average …

The Influence Of Faculty Mentors On Junior Pharmacy Faculty Members’ Career Decisions, Nicholas E. Hagemeier, Matthew M. Murawski, Nicholas G. Popovich

Nicholas E. Hagemeier

Objective. To assess junior faculty members’ perceptions regarding the impact of past faculty-mentoring relationships in their career decisions, including the decision to pursue postgraduate training and ultimately an academic career.

Methods. A mixed-mode survey instrument was developed and an invitation to participate in the survey was sent to 2,634 pharmacy faculty members designated as assistant professors in the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) directory data.

Results. Usable responses were received from 1,059 pharmacy faculty members. Approximately 59% of respondents indicated that they had received encouragement from 1 or more faculty mentors that was very or extremely influential in …

Teaching Communication Skills To Medical And Pharmacy Students Through A Blended Learning Course, Rick Hess, Nicholas E. Hagemeier, Reid Blackwelder, Daniel Rose, Nasar Ansari, Tandy Branham

Nicholas E. Hagemeier

Objective. To evaluate the impact of an interprofessional blended learning course on medical and pharmacy students’ patient-centered interpersonal communication skills and to compare precourse and postcourse communication skills across first-year medical and second-year pharmacy student cohorts.

Methods. Students completed ten 1-hour online modules and participated in five 3-hour group sessions over one semester. Objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) were administered before and after the course and were evaluated using the validated Common Ground Instrument. Nonparametric statistical tests were used to examine pre/postcourse domain scores within and across professions.

Results. Performance in all communication skill domains increased significantly for all students. …

Junior Pharmacy Faculty Members’ Perceptions Of Their Exposure To Postgraduate Training And Academic Careers During Pharmacy School, Nicholas E. Hagemeier, Matthew M. Murawski

Nicholas E. Hagemeier

Objective. To determine the perceptions of junior pharmacy faculty members with US doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) degrees regarding their exposure to residency, fellowship, and graduate school training options in pharmacy school. Perceptions of exposure to career options and research were also sought. Methods. A mixed-mode survey instrument was developed and sent to assistant professors at US colleges and schools of pharmacy. Results. Usable responses were received from 735 pharmacy faculty members. Faculty members perceived decreased exposure to and awareness of fellowship and graduate education training as compared to residency training. Awareness of and exposure to academic careers and research-related fields …

Pharmacy Student Self-Testing As A Predictor Of Examination Performance, David Stewart, Peter Panus, Nicholas E. Hagemeier, Jim Thigpen, Lauren Brooks

Nicholas E. Hagemeier

Objectives. To determine if student self-testing improves performance during a doctor of pharmacy course.

Methods. Students were given access to online quizzes with a large pool of randomly selected questions specific to upcoming examination content. Quizzes were electronically scored immediately upon completion and students were provided corrective feedback.

Results. Examination scores following implementation of the practice quizzes were significantly higher in all but the last testing period. The upper fiftieth percentile of students scored higher on both the practice quizzes and subsequent examinations in all but the fourth testing period.

Conclusions. Providing pharmacy students with self-testing opportunities could increase their …

Impact Of An Interprofessional Communication Course On Nursing, Medical, And Pharmacy Students’ Communication Skill Self-Efficacy Beliefs, Nicholas E. Hagemeier, Rick Hess, Kyle S. Hagen, Emily L. Sorah

Nicholas E. Hagemeier

Objective. To describe an interprofessional communication course in an academic health sciences center and to evaluate and compare interpersonal and interprofessional communication self-efficacy beliefs of medical, nursing, and pharmacy students before and after course participation, using Bandura’s self-efficacy theory as a guiding framework. Design. First-year nursing (n=36), first-year medical (n=73), and second-year pharmacy students (n=83) enrolled in an interprofessional communication skills development course voluntarily completed a 33-item survey instrument based on Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) core competencies prior to and upon completion of the course during the fall semester of 2012. Assessment. Nursing students entered the course with higher interpersonal …

Assessing Faculty And Student Interpretations Of Aacp Survey Items With Cognitive Interviewing, Samuel C. Karpen, Nicholas E. Hagemeier

Nicholas E. Hagemeier

Objective. To use cognitive interviewing techniques to determine faculty and student interpretation of a subset of items from the AACP faculty and graduating student surveys. Methods. Students and faculty were interviewed individually in a private room. The interviewer asked each respondent for his/her interpretation of 15 randomly selected items from the graduating student survey or 20 items from the faculty survey. Results. While many items were interpreted consistently by respondents, the researchers identified several items that were either difficult to interpret or produced differing interpretations. Conclusion. Several interpretational inconsistencies and ambiguities were discovered that could compromise the usefulness of certain …

An Instrument To Assess Subjective Task Value Beliefs Regarding The Decision To Pursue Postgraduate Training, Nicholas E. Hagemeier, Matthew M. Murawski

Nicholas E. Hagemeier

Objectives. To develop and validate an instrument to assess subjective ratings of the perceived value of various postgraduate training paths followed using expectancy-value as a theoretical framework; and to explore differences in value beliefs across type of postgraduate training pursued and type of pharmacy training completed prior to postgraduate training. Methods. A survey instrument was developed to sample 4 theoretical domains of subjective task value: intrinsic value, attainment value, utility value, and perceived cost. Retrospective self-report methodology was employed to examine respondents’ (N=1,148) subjective task value beliefs specific to their highest level of postgraduate training completed. Exploratory and confirmatory factor …

A Subgroup Analysis Of The Impact Of Self-Testing Frequency On Examination Scores In A Pathophysiology Course, Peter C. Panus, David W. Stewart, Nicholas E. Hagemeier, Jim C. Thigpen, Lauren Brooks

Nicholas E. Hagemeier

Objective: To determine if the frequency of self-testing of course material prior to actual examination improves examination scores, regardless of the actual scores on the self-testing.

Methods: Practice quizzes were randomly generated from a total of 1342 multiple-choice questions in pathophysiology and made available online for student self-testing. Intercorrelations, 2-way repeated measures ANOVA with post hoc tests, and 2-group comparisons following rank ordering, were conducted.

Results: During each of 4 testing blocks, more than 85% of students took advantage of the self-testing process for a total of 7042 attempts. A consistent significant correlation (p≤0.05) existed between the number of practice …

A Graduate Student Mentoring Program To Develop Interest In Research, Mary E. Kiersma, Nicholas E. Hagemeier, Aleda M.H. Chen, Brittany Melton, Marwa Noureldin, Kimberly S. Plake

Nicholas E. Hagemeier

Objective. To assess the impact of a graduate student mentoring program on student interest in research and postgraduate education and on graduate student confidence in mentoring. Methods. Undergraduate and pharmacy students (mentees) and graduate students (mentors) were matched and participated in the study, which required them to engage in at least 2 discussions regarding research and careers. Mentees completed a pre- and post-assessment of their perceptions of research, postgraduate training plans, and perceptions about mentors. Mentors completed a pre- and post-assessment of their perceptions about themselves as mentors and their confidence in mentoring. Results. Although there were no significant differences …