It is proposed that the college of pharmacy's division of Continuing Professional Education accept responsibility for program innovation to advance pharmacy practice. Two areas of need are discussed: development of a model practice system to provide pharmaceutical care, and postgraduate development and recognition of pharmacists' abilities to…

A study to quantify continuing education credit hours awarded for pharmacy home study is reported. Selected home study courses were administered to volunteers under supervision. Time needed for completion and examination, learner assessment of difficulty, and word count and number of questions per lesson were used to calculate credits. (Author/MSE)

Recommendations are made for improving pharmacy education and practice concerning sterile products. Suggestions address curriculum and program design needs for each of these groups: pharmacy faculty; undergraduate and graduate students; pharmacy practitioners; pharmacy technicians; and production technicians. (MSE)

Describes an introductory course at the University of Colorado School of Pharmacy designed to socialize first-year doctor of pharmacy students (n=91). The course, delivered 6-7 hours daily for two weeks, used small-team activities and large-group discussions to address such topics as roles of faculty, types of pharmacists, time management, and the…

An examination of the comparability of existing pharmacy home study courses and coursework required for the master's degrees in pharmacy administration and hospital pharmacy and the doctor of pharmacy degree revealed that about 70 percent of those studied covered material similar to some covered in 16 of the 75 degree courses. (MSE)

The pharmacist as a provider of "pharmaceutical care" is examined both as a notion and as a new example for training practitioners. It is concluded that the example will require more from the pharmacist of the future and a reordering of perceptions about the nature of the pharmacy profession. (MSE)

A specialist in marketing traces the evolution of the study of consumer behavior as a discipline and distills from it some lessons learned in the process. Topics examined include establishing legitimacy, using scientific procedures, and borrowing from other disciplines. Literature on the philosophy, sociology, and history of science is reviewed.…

The 440 interventions completed by pharmacy residents in an inpatient on-call program were analyzed for their source (self-initiated, solicited by physician or staff pharmacist), type (selection of dosage, schedule, drug level monitoring, route of administration), impact on quality of care, cost of care, and clinical significance. (Author/MSE)

A survey of 335 registered Ohio pharmacists concerning specialized continuing education investigated practitioner interest in 28 specific course topics, perceived importance of certain program attributes (e.g., academic credit, instructional format, experiential components), and preferences for seasons, days, and hours of course offering.…

The German system for educating and certifying pharmacists is described, including national standards for curriculum content and design, licensing examinations, the structure of graduate study and specialization, and the availability of continuing professional education. (MSE)

A method of decision-analysis in pharmaceutical care that integrates epidemiology and economics is presented, including an example illustrating both the deceptive nature of medical decision making and the power of decision analysis. Principles in determining both general and specific probabilities of interest and use of decision trees for…

Development and validation of a statement of professional competencies for practicing pharmacists in British Columbia (Canada) are described. The resulting 12 weighted general competency statements were designed to serve as a blueprint for constructing and validating instruments to assess practicing pharmacists' continuing competence. (Author/MSE)

A discussion of health services research looks at its nature, sources, funding, and use. The role of academic health centers as producers and users and as leaders in building future health care is examined. Their leadership in this area is seen as crucial, superseding other demands on academic health centers. (MSE)

An algorithm presenting questions allowing prediction of the major type of biological activity elicited by a steroid hormone structure is designed to help students organize their approach to the interpretation of the complex structures and permit independent application of logical thought processes in pharmacological identification of other drug…

A survey of pharmacists revealed that most pharmacists exceeded the number of required credits, and most credits were acquired by correspondence study. Some differences in preference were found according to sex, age group, and professional position type. (MSE)