An exercise prescription course to improve pharmacy students' confidence in patient counseling.
OBJECTIVE
To create, implement, and evaluate an elective course on the foundational aspects of exercise prescription to increase pharmacy students' knowledge about exercise and confidence in offering exercise advice in pharmacy practice.


METHODS
A course was designed as an elective using the American College of Sports Medicine guidelines for exercise prescription for healthy and clinical populations.


RESULTS
Surveys of students who did and did not take the elective were conducted over 2 years to assess the impact of the course on students' confidence in knowledge and counseling. Students' confidence in counseling patients about exercise increased after taking the course and remained higher after 6 months.


CONCLUSIONS
This course increased pharmacy students' knowledge and confidence in incorporating exercise prescriptions in their advice to various patient populations.
Persky
Adam M
AM
School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002983:Clinical Competence; D032882:Comprehension; D003376:Counseling; D003479:Curriculum; D004512:Education, Pharmacy; D005081:Exercise Therapy; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D016730:Program Development; D015397:Program Evaluation; D013339:Students, Pharmacy / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires