title: Promoting direct patient care services at community pharmacies through advanced pharmacy practice experiences.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the relative benefits of three different models of advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) in successfully integrating the delivery of direct patient care into students' final year community pharmacy clerkships.
  
  
  METHODS
  All fourth-year pharmacy students at the University of British Columbia were divided into one of three study arms for their community APPE: a 2 × 4-week rotation in a traditional format, a 1 × 8-week rotation where their preceptors had experienced a 2-day education course and a 1 × 8-week rotation with both preceptor education plus a 5-day pre-APPE in-store orientation and peer debriefing.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All 123 students conducted patient consultations and documented their care. Students in the pre-APPE + preceptor education arm provided nearly double the number of direct patient consultations than did students in the preceptor-education-only arm or the traditional 2 × 4-week arm. Numbers of drug-related problems identified and interventions performed per patient consult did not differ across study arms.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Pre-APPE orientation activities provided an enhanced learning environment, promoted greater student engagement, provided care to more patients, increased preceptor preparedness and enhanced in-store patient-centred care practice. Certain of these learning activities can also form part of third- and fourth-year introductory pharmacy practice experiences to prepare students for their final-year APPE.
authors: Structured Practice Education Program, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
authors: Rosemin
authors: R
authors: Kassam
authors: Mona
authors: M
authors: Kwong
authors: John B
authors: JB
authors: Collins
mesh_terms: D002983:Clinical Competence; D003157:Community Pharmacy Services; D004512:Education, Pharmacy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D005791:Patient Care; D016730:Program Development
keywords: advanced pharmacy practice experience; community pharmacy; direct patient care; experiential learning; pharmaceutical care