Andrew Draper, PharmD, MSA, is an assistant professor, lecturer track, Division of Physician Assistant Studies, Department of Family & Preventive Medicine, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah.
Michael Schwartz, PharmD, is a clinical professor, Department of Physician Assistant Studies, East Carolina University, College of Allied Health Sciences and is also an adjunct professor, Division of Infectious Diseases, Brody School of Medicine, Greenville North Carolina.
J Physician Assist Educ. 2024 Mar 1;35(1):27-31. doi: 10.1097/JPA.0000000000000559. Epub 2023 Oct 24.
In recent years, there has been a growing trend toward integrating pharmacology instruction into physician assistant (PA) programs by dedicated PA faculty pharmacists. Pharmacists train to become medication experts. Incorporating pharmacist instruction in a PA program during the didactic year provides PA students with an early opportunity to experience interprofessional education and interdisciplinary synergy through clinical application.
This article presents a retrospective study that aims to evaluate the impact of integrated pharmacology instruction by principal PA faculty pharmacists on student satisfaction and standardized assessment metrics. Student satisfaction was measured by course evaluations and exit/alumni surveys. Standardized metrics included Physician Assistant Clinical Knowledge Rating and Assessment Tool and Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam assessments.
The findings indicate that having a principal faculty member with specialized expertise in pharmacology has improved the overall course satisfaction, knowledge, and competence of PA students and perceptions of the relevance and effectiveness of pharmacology instruction in their clinical practice.
The results of this study support the value of using pharmacist faculty members in PA programs to enhance the quality of pharmacology instruction and ultimately contribute to the success of PA students in their professional careers.
近年来，越来越多的专职药剂师药师正在将药理学教学融入医师助理（PA）课程中。药剂师接受培训成为药物专家。在理论学习阶段，将药剂师的教学纳入 PA 课程，为 PA 学生提供了通过临床应用体验跨专业教育和跨学科协同作用的早期机会。
本文介绍了一项回顾性研究，旨在评估主要 PA 专职药剂师进行药理学整合教学对学生满意度和标准化评估指标的影响。学生满意度通过课程评估和毕业/校友调查进行衡量。标准化指标包括医师助理临床知识评估和测评工具以及医师助理国家认证考试评估。
研究结果表明，拥有一名在药理学方面具有专业专长的主要教职员工，提高了 PA 学生的整体课程满意度、知识和能力，以及他们对药理学教学在临床实践中的相关性和有效性的看法。
这项研究的结果支持在 PA 课程中使用药剂师教职员工来提高药理学教学质量，并最终有助于 PA 学生在其职业生涯中的成功。
