Scott Mollie Ashe, Kiser Stephanie, Park Irene, Grandy Rebecca, Joyner Pamela U
UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, Chapel Hill, NC
UNC School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC
Am J Health Syst Pharm. 2017 Dec 1;74(23):2005-2012. doi: 10.2146/ajhp160727.
An innovative certificate program aimed at expanding the rural pharmacy workforce, increasing the number of pharmacists with expertise in rural practice, and improving healthcare outcomes in rural North Carolina is described.
Predicted shortages of primary care physicians and closures of critical access hospitals are expected to worsen existing health disparities. Experiential education in schools and colleges of pharmacy primarily takes place in academic medical centers and, unlike experiential education in medical schools, rarely emphasizes the provision of patient care in rural U.S. communities, where chronic diseases are prevalent and many residents struggle with poverty and poor access to healthcare. To help address these issues, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy developed the 3-year Rural Pharmacy Health Certificate program. The program curriculum includes 4 seminar courses, interprofessional education and interaction with medical students, embedding of each pharmacy student into a specific rural community for the duration of training, longitudinal ambulatory care practice experiences, community engagement initiatives, leadership training, development and implementation of a population health project, and 5 pharmacy practice experiences in rural settings.
The Rural Pharmacy Health Certificate program at UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy seeks to transform rural pharmacy practice by creating a pipeline of rural pharmacy leaders and teaching a unique skillset that will be beneficial to healthcare systems, communities, and patients.
描述了一项创新的证书项目，该项目旨在扩大农村药房劳动力队伍，增加具有农村实践专业知识的药剂师数量，并改善北卡罗来纳州农村地区的医疗保健结果。
预计初级保健医生的短缺以及关键接入医院的关闭将加剧现有的健康差距。药学院校的实践教育主要在学术医疗中心进行，与医学院的实践教育不同，很少强调在美国农村社区提供患者护理，而农村社区慢性病普遍，许多居民面临贫困且难以获得医疗保健服务。为帮助解决这些问题，北卡罗来纳大学埃谢尔曼药学院开发了为期三年的农村药房健康证书项目。该项目课程包括4门研讨课程、跨专业教育以及与医学生的互动，在培训期间将每名药学专业学生融入特定的农村社区，提供长期门诊护理实践经验、社区参与倡议、领导力培训、制定和实施一项人群健康项目，以及在农村地区的5次药房实践经验。
北卡罗来纳大学埃谢尔曼药学院的农村药房健康证书项目旨在通过培养农村药房领导者人才库并教授一套独特的技能组合，来改变农村药房实践，这将对医疗保健系统、社区和患者有益。
