Introduction to experiential learning in pharmacy and basketball

Welcome to optimal outcome preceptor. This is the first session of a series of five. This first session is on introduction to experiential learning in pharmacy and basketball. You might be wondering what the link is between pharmacy and basketball. The idea is that experiential learning and pharmacy need to enable the student to move from knowledge to action. To be able to convert what they’ve learned into performance. It’s not unlike what is accomplished by basketball players and being guided by their coach, have a knowledge of the game but they need to be able to execute that knowledge and perform adequately in the game.

So pharmacy preceptors can learn from basketball coaches and how basketball coaches enable their players to perform better in order to enhance the learning of the students on a rotation. My background in experiential learning will help you understand a little bit about my perspective. I have been doing this for 34 years. I started as a courtship preceptor, precepting internal medicine, pharmacokinetics and drug information students at the Medical College of Ohio hospital from 1982 to 1987. I became a hospital pharmacy director from 1988 until 2000. By continued to precept students the pharmacokinetic rotation. That was two different hospitals in California. I was the founding director of a pharmacy residency program at the Medical College of Ohio hospital in 1986.

In the United States, the pharmacy residency provides the primary opportunity for students to obtain postgraduate training. We don’t really have very many students complete clinical masters programs. Students who upon graduation want to pursue a career in academia or some type of advanced clinical practice. Once they receive their PharmD will completely either one or two year residency. The second residency program that I found was at San Joaquin General Hospital in 1999. The principles of of designing a residency training experience are very similar to the principles that used to develop and advanced practice experience or pharmacy students before they graduate. I became the founding director of experiential education for Palm Beach Atlantic University in 2001 when the school first opened.

And I served in the same role at Wingate University, which is just outside of Charlotte, North Carolina in 2003. Two years later I returned to the Palm Beach Atlantic University as the Dean. I served in that position for five years. And then I assumed my current role as the director of faculty development for Palm Beach Atlantic University. And also as professor of pharmacy practice in the school of pharmacy. I still teach a course in clinical pharmacokinetics and take advanced practice experience students and academic rotation. Also, I have a elective course, an independent study course, on clinical research and publications in the chases students in obtaining their first publication. These five sessions on optimal outcome precepting.

The first one , as we mentioned, is going to be an experiential learning and relation to the basketball. The second one is on evaluating student performance and assessment, what I call the GPS precepting. The third one is on designing a structured, well-organized training experience. The fourth one is strategies for bringing out the best in every student. And the fifth one is traits of great preceptors and characteristics of great rotation. Now, the information in these five of sessions is very similar to what was covered in the original session, entitled the six steps to becoming a super preceptor. Now, that session provided a broad overview of precepting principles and practices.

What we’re going to be doing in these five sessions is going into much greater detail. But it will help if you’ve already seen the video on six steps becoming a super precept. The first two steps are what we’ll be talking about today. Designing the features of a prototype student which focuses on learning outcome. And that means defining the target what a student should be expected to achieve as a result of completing the rotation. Second one is to focus all assignments and activities on those learning outcomes. So what we expect students to do is consistent with what we expect them to achieve.

Before we begin discussing the aspects of precepting students, I guess it’s good to begin with the question of why is this important? What is it about precepting that causes us to put effort in becoming as a good preceptor as you possibly can. Have you ever thought about that why is it important to set up a good rotation? To be a good preceptor, the best preceptor you can possibly be. To develop your students to be the best pharmacist that they can possibly be. And there’s two very simple answers to that question. The first one has to do with those who are going to work with the students that you train. Your students will eventually graduate.

They’ll become a pharmacist and they’ll be working alongside other pharmacist. Those pharmacists are going to hope that you do a good job training your graduates. Because they’re going to have to work with them. In fact, it’s possible that you may end up having to work with him someday. Several of the students that I train. I ended up working with when I was a pharmacy director. The second reason that precepting is very important responsibility is that patients are to be counting on the service of the pharmacists who you train. And if you don’t train them well, they shouldn’t be able to provide the best possible service to the patient’s.

They may end up serving patients who are good friends of yours, or who are relatives of yours, or possibly even yourself. So, for two reasons, who they’re going to be working with and the patients are going to be serving make precepting very high responsibility that needs to be taken very seriously. The bottom line is people going to be counting on you to do a good job training the students go through your rotation.