2017 Symposium

Pharmacy education and collaboration for global practice

Sunday 9 July - Wednesday 12 July 2017

Don't miss your chance to explore and discuss learning and teaching in the contemporary pharmacy curriculum with practitioners, educators and regulators from across the world.

The symposium presents an ideal opportunity to share and discover best practice with colleagues committed to better pharmacy education and improved global health.

Abstract submission for both oral and poster presentations is anticipated to open at the beginning of November and close at the end of January, with early bird registration closing at the end of February.

Plenary presentations

Monday 10 July

Plenary 1:

Learning in workplaces
Tim Wilkinson

Learning in workplaces is opportunistic and unpredictable yet effective and important.  Helping people learn in workplaces is more than sitting down and teaching. This presentation explores factors that help many health professionals learn in workplaces and draws on research from both teachers and learners. Some of the things that help are deceptively simple yet often missing.

Tuesday 11 July

Plenary 2:

Achieving a fit-for-purpose health workforce to achieve universal health coverage by 2030 – what is the transformative pharmacy workforce agenda?
Tana Wuliji

Four-hundred million people globally lack access to one or more essential health services, 100 million are pushed into poverty and 150 million people suffer financial catastrophe because of out-of-pocket expenditure on health services.  The globally agreed ambition of achieving Universal health coverage (UHC) by 2030 as one of the Sustainable Development Goals could change the future of health and health care.

Socio-economic development, increasing health expenditure and demographic transitions could lead to an unprecedented global demand for 80 million health workers by 2030 – double the current supply of health workers. With the right policies, transformative reforms and investments into the health workforce, this trend may present a unique and timely opportunity to convert decades of under-investment and workforce mismatches into progress towards a fit-for-purpose health workforce and more inclusive economic growth. Failure to act could result in a needs-based shortfall of 18 million health workers in 2030, in primarily low- and lower-middle income countries.

The Global Strategy on Human Resources for Health was unanimously adopted at the 69^th World Health Assembly in May 2016.  It provides a collective framework to ensure the universal availability, accessibility, acceptability, coverage and quality of the health workforce for UHC and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  Its implementation will be catalyzed by the United Nations Secretary-General’s High-Level Commission on Health Employment and Economic Growth. The pharmacy workforce plays a critical role in achieving UHC – by enabling access to and rational use of medicines; enhancing the accessibility, effectiveness and efficiency of promotive, preventative  and curative health services; supporting public health and community engagement; advancing the evidence base, science and technology for better health; and as advocates for better governance for health.  This presentation will explore these issues, implications and opportunities for the pharmacy workforce agenda.

Linking the transformative workforce agenda with education in developing countries using the FIP Workforce Development Goals
Patricia Acuña-Johnson

Health care officials today are responsible for establishing public policies to guarantee people their right to health. Social, cultural and demographic changes, characterised by an increasing life expectancy of the population and the occurrence of chronic non communicable diseases, are some of the challenges that health care suppliers face around the world. Development of tailored biological drugs to treat certain diseases is a major current milestone in pharmacotherapy, while ensuring the population has access to safe, effective, quality medicines at the lowest cost and increasing antimicrobial resistance are two of the biggest challenges to all countries, especially to those with budget constraints.

Ensuring access to medicines involves not only making them available to their beneficiaries, but it is also necessary to count on qualified professionals to give patients the information and education they need, and ensure adherence to maximally efficient therapy that has minimum risks. The use of drugs also requires systematic active monitoring and pharmacovigilance, with feedback to regulatory authorities for the population’s health.

Under this referential framework, schools and faculties of Pharmacy, and particularly teachers, play an important role in educating pharmacists of society’s needs in the years to come.  The pharmacy student has to acquire the knowledge, skills and attitudes to communicate with people and enable them to make healthy choices. Beyond budget and technological resources, today’s situation in the classroom or in the learning environment depends on academics being able to encourage their students to be responsible of becoming the center of the teaching–learning process. Students are exposed to an infinite amount of information and social networks allowing instant communication. However, all of these options neither guarantee true knowledge nor possess the interpersonal skills students need to communicate and interact with others. Students are individual human beings, all different at the same time, and the use of a variety of different pedagogic tools based on various active learning methodologies will support them to reach their learning outcomes.

The presentation deals with these aspects of the teaching and learning process, the role of the faculties of pharmacy, and the importance of the academic leadership in carrying out different strategies to reach the professional outcomes, particularly in countries with noticeable social and economic differences.

Wednesday 12 July

Plenary 3: Ready to go, Ready to grow

Assessment speed dating: Using the multiple mini-interview to evaluate non-cognitive attributes
Jacqui McLaughlin, Wendy Cox

Non-cognitive attributes, also referred to as professional attributes or skills, are vital to the success of health care providers. These attributes generally include non-academic indicators such as empathy, collaboration, leadership, and integrity. A growing body of literature demonstrates the need  for  health care providers to possess these non-cognitive skills, including the ability to work collaboratively on interdisciplinary health care teams and to communicate effectively.

While the importance of these attributes is widely accepted, the challenge is defining and assessing them. In an effort to assess these types of skills, the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy implemented a Multiple Mini-Interview (MMI) as part of its new curriculum. In the MMI, students rotate through  a  series of brief (6 minute) interviews, each with a single faculty member. This method enables us to differentiate among students using targeted assessment of a single non-cognitive construct at each of 5–7 stations.

We selected the MMI based on literature supporting its use as a reliable assessment of non-cognitive attributes with less bias than other assessments. In this session, we will describe our experience with the MMI, including how we implemented and assessed it, and planned next steps to assess student  outcomes  in the PharmD curriculum.

Selecting for non-academic attributes: Research, theory and practice
Fiona Patterson

Across the globe, selection and admissions processes in the healthcare professions continue to attract strong public interest, and often criticism regarding accuracy, fairness and widening participation. Whilst academic achievement is consistently a good predictor of subsequent performance, it cannot  be  assumed that those with high academic ability alone can be trained to become competent clinicians. Little research attention has focused on methods that reliably evaluate important (non-academic) personal attributes, values and motivational qualities. In exploring these issues, results of a systematic  literature  review are presented to examine the quality of evidence for various selection methods. Implications for theory, policy and practice are discussed.

Panel / debate: Pharmacy education is preparing students for yesterday's practice, not tomorrow's
Martin Henman and Simon Bell for the affirmative
Tim Chen and Tina Brock for the negative

Followed by audience discussion and questions.

Program

Workshops

Monday 10 July

Workshop Session 1

Workforce development goals - Part 1
Scene setting for workshops - Bill Charman

In November 2016, the FIP Global Conference on Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Education established milestones for impactful global development for pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences education. A set of 13 Workforce Development Goals were developed focusing on three clusters: Academy, Professional Development, and Systems (see http://www.fip.org/nanjing2016/ for more information).

At this Pharmacy Education Symposium, relevant Workforce Development Goals (WDGs) will be further investigated during four workshops covering four themes to answer questions such as:

Workshop Session 2

1. Assessment of professionalism
Tim Wilkinson

Professionalism is important yet notoriously hard to assess in a robust way.  This workshop will explore what constitutes professionalism, discuss the purposes of assessing professionalism and then explore some tools that could be used.  It will conclude with discussion on ways that the information could be pulled together to inform robust decisions.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this workshop, participants will have:

• Determined those aspects of professionalism relevant to their context
• Identified some tools that could be used to assess professionalism
• Constructed an assessment blueprint
• Discussed ways to synthesize information from assessments in order to make robust decisions​

2. Delivering professional pharmaceutical services: The need for inter-professional education and a patient centred approach
Tim Chen

There has been significant change in the practice of pharmacy over the past two decades. Pharmacists are now far more engaged in the provision of professional pharmaceutical services, such as medication therapy management. For example, in Australia, credentialed pharmacists have been providing (Government funded) Home Medicines Review and Residential Medication Management Review services to patients for over a decade.

These “new” professional services are not only patient-centred, but also require interprofessional collaboration, especially with physicians. Some argue that contemporary educational curricula in pharmacy have driven this practice change by producing ‘practice ready’ graduates, whilst other more traditional (didactic) curricula have lagged behind.

The aim of this workshop is to critically evaluate the core elements of pharmacy curricula which are necessary to prepare graduates for their role in delivering ‘new’ professional pharmaceutical services and how they may be embedded within curricula. To meet the study aims, we will use a number of purposively designed case studies, with (facilitated) small group discussion, with a focus on interprofessional and patient-centred aspects. Specifically we will consider what structural aspects need to be in place, the processes for implementing interprofessional and patient-centred learning, and the expected outcomes from such activities including the vexed question of how to assess them.

The workshop activities will draw on the collective expertise and experience of participants in order to cover these complex educational challenges.

3. Traveller vs. Tourist - Impact on global practice Workshop
Ralph Altiere, Kari Franson

In order for faculty to have meaningful impact on global pharmacy practice, universities need to prepare them to have the ‘traveler’ rather than tourist traits.

‘Tourists’ are happy with brief interactions, and the one-and-done sense of accomplishment.

The traveler develops mastery in the nuances of global pharmacy practice.  Travelers enter collaborations with respect and are courteous as they explore what each pharmacy practice partner values.  The traveler will have a deeply ingrained exploration mindset, considering the consequences of their actions to the health care system before agreeing upon outcomes and goals.  Travelers are prepared to thrive in new and unexpected pharmacy practice environments.

Learning outcomes:

Participants will be able to:

• Identify their goals for participating in global initiatives
• Consider carefully key issues when starting or enhancing global efforts
• Determine challenges inherent in coordinating global collaborations and the strategies for overcoming them.

4. Development of situational judgement based approaches for selection, development and assessment
Fiona Patterson

Situational judgement based assessments are becoming increasingly popular within healthcare, in both selection and education contexts. In recent years there has been a renewed interest in situational judgement and scenario based assessments for in-training formative assessment, particularly in the development context.

Formative assessments that seek to develop professional skills for trainees can be challenging and costly to implement. Using a scenario based approach (such as Situational Judgement Scenarios) can enhance individuals’ knowledge of effective behaviours and attitudes at work relating to, for example, resilience, empathy and team-work. Through self-reflection and personalised feedback, trainees can be supported in the development of these important non-academic attributes.

During this workshop, delegates will learn some of the key principles in scenario assessment design, implementation and evaluation, including the practicalities and implications of online or video based approaches. Delegates will have the opportunity to develop their own scenarios and will receive expert feedback and guidance.

Tuesday 11 July

Workshop Session 3

Workforce development goals continues from Monday, with Part 2

Workshop Session 4

1. Effective and efficient feedback for learning: How less can be more
Tom Angelo

Providing feedback is critical to pharmacy students' learning and success. But it can also be time-consuming, difficult, and frustrating  – particularly when students fail to make use of (or even read) our feedback. This interactive workshop presents useful, sometimes counter-intuitive research findings on effective feedback, along with simple, practical, time-saving strategies for improving the odds that feedback is read/heard, understood, valued and used.

Learning outcomes:

By the end of this brief workshop, participants will have identified at least two:

• Research-based guidelines for making their feedback practices more efficient and effective
• Simple feedback strategies to adapt and apply in their teaching
• Useful resources/references for follow up.

2. EXCELLing as a Pharmacy practitioner-in-training: communication competencies for success
Jasmina Fejzic, Michelle Barker

Integrating communication competencies in pharmacy education has been the focus of several teaching innovations aimed at improving students’ communication. The EXCellence in Cultural Experiential Learning and Leadership (EXCELL) Program is an evidence-based, schematic, professional development resource centered on the learning of seven generic social competencies required in pharmacy practice: making social contact, seeking help, participating in a team, expressing disagreement, refusing a request, and giving and receiving feedback

Learning outcomes:

After participating in the workshop, participants will:

• Understand the principles of EXCELL and its evidence base
• Gain hands-on experience using the EXCELL method
• Explore applicability of EXCELL in pharmacy education and experiential learning

3. Keeping up with technology driven learning. Are we leaving our principles behind?
Louise Brown, Terry Ng, Ian Bates

In recent years many universities and education providers have cooperated to provide new and innovative technology-driven learning systems in pharmacy education. “MyDispense” is a good example of this, with wide institutional cooperation and links to resource sharing platforms. There is no doubt that the aim of cooperation and sharing of educational resource is, intrinsically, a good one; additionally, that the idea of digital technology as an aid to better professional learning outcomes seems intuitively good. However, are we allowing our enthusiasm with digital innovation - or our assumption that students prefer to learn in a technology rich environment - to undermine our traditional commitment to evidence-led educational development?

This workshop aims to harness the collective views and opinions of attending experts and will attempt to address the following challenges in the area of digital technology-driven learning:

1. Do we have a good idea of the actual impact of technology-driven learning and the things that digital technology doesn't do well? Have we properly explored how we measure improvement in learning through the use of digitally-enhanced technology?
2. How do we better manage quality and quality assurance with digital technology-driven learning? Are there reference points for comparisons that can adequately be used in order to judge quality?
3. Have we made good enough efforts to assess the resourcing economics of technology-driven learning in the context of professional education? This is an important issue, particularly if we are committed to open access and sharing of resources; the hidden question here is, what exactly do we mean by ‘resources’? Developing a software system for enhancement of learning with subsequent sharing is one thing, but having sufficient technological infrastructure within an institution may constitute “non-free” sharing or access, for example IT infrastructure in a low-income country.  How can we better make the case for balancing the economics with improvement in learning quality?

This workshop will explore these challenges and try to better define what digital technology-driven learning both can and, equally importantly, cannot do well.  This may be a step forward in better evaluation of actual impact in cost constrained contexts. The “MyDispense” example, and others, will be used to help explore these challenges, particularly because of the successfully high levels of cooperation with these particular projects.

4. Collaborative problem solving – 21st century skill(s)
Elizabeth Yuriev

Education is more about growth in skills than about teaching content. Content changes and moves in the directions we can’t even predict today. While students are expected to become content experts, above all they must develop skills that will make them able to function professionally in the faster than ever changing world. They must be able to solve problems and think critically and creatively, communicate effectively in a variety of modes and to a range of audiences, work cooperatively and collaboratively with others, and learn independently. In this workshop, the participants will tackle issues associated with instruction and assessment of problem-solving and teamwork skills, both critical graduate attributes.

It is sometimes assumed that students develop these skills if presented with a problem and/or group-work activity, even without specific direction/instruction. Furthermore, since assessment is commonly focused on task performance (and not the development of the skill), explicit evidence that students develop these skills is often missing. The participants will work in groups to solve simple problems in a structured guided manner, specifically designed to encourage the development of both skills. They will also have a go at evaluating problem-solving and teamwork skills using our metacognitive awareness questionnaire and behavioural observation protocol, respectively.

By the end of the workshop, the participants will learn how to:

• structure teamwork to enhance its effectiveness and collaborative skill development
• scaffold problem solving with both convergent and divergent thinking
• build on the proposed approaches for assessing problem-solving and teamwork skills.