Student Pharmacists’ Ability to Plan Complex Drug Regimens Improves With Time

Third professional year student pharmacists were better at simplifying complex medication regimens in a standardized laboratory exercise compared with first professional year student pharmacists, according to a study published in the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education. 

Researchers gauged the ability of student pharmacists at three colleges of pharmacy to plan how and when they would recommend a patient take seven fictious medications over a 24-hour period. The study compared the performance of 459 first professional year student pharmacists compared with 372 third professional year student pharmacists. 

Overall, student pharmacists advised 5.1 dosing intervals daily, according to the study. Just over a quarter of students were able to reduce the regimen to 4 total intervals daily.  

Third professional year students recommended an average 4.9 dosing intervals per 24 hours, researchers noted, compared with 5.4 intervals advised by first professional year students. 

“Student pharmacists may become more effective at organizing complex medication regimens as they proceed through the pharmacy curriculum and gain experience,” researchers wrote. “Student pharmacists can translate what they learned from this exercise to potentially improve patients' self-organized medication regimens.”

—Jolynn Tumolo

Reference

Kebodeaux C, Woodyard JL, Kachlic MD, Allen SM, Schadler AD, Vouri SM. Student Pharmacists' Ability to Organize Complex Medication Regimens According to the Universal Medication Schedule. Am J Pharm Educ. 2020;84(8):ajpe7531. doi:10.5688/ajpe7531