By Allison Proffitt
August 25, 2017 | In the second annual Pharmacy Student Point-of-Care Disease Management Competition, held last week at the Next Generation Dx Summit*, pharmacy student Jacob Duncan from the University of Nebraska Medical Center, was awarded the grand prize for his assessment of a patient in a mock care situation.
The Point-of-Care Disease Management Competition emulates the American Pharmacists Association Patient Counseling Competition and the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists Clinical Skills Competitions. Pharmacy students were asked to step into the role of pharmacist at a mock pharmacy, assess a patient, and make care recommendations.
“The goal is to give the students a chance to showcase their skills in physical assessment and point-of-care testing services by utilizing a case-based approach,” explained Suzanne Higginbotham, Director of Center for Pharmacy Care and Duquesne University Pharmacy. “In addition,” added Donald G. Klepser, Vice Chair of Pharmacy Practice at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, “we are trying to expose students to another area of pharmacy practice and getting them to think about the types of services they will be able to provide patients.”
Higginbotham and Klepser are part of a team that has been working over the past several years to bring more pharmacy and point-of-care content to the Next Generation Dx Summit. Allison Dering-Anderson, an associate professor at the University of Nebraska College of Pharmacy; and Michael Klepser, a professor of pharmacy practice at Ferris State University College of Pharmacy have both also worked closely to develop the content and competition.
“Mike and I have worked with the staff at CHI for a number of years to bring pharmacy related content into Next Gen Dx,” Don Klepser said. “Once a specific track was established, we can began thinking of ways to get students involved, which led to the idea of the student competition. Suzanne and Ally have really taken on most of the work as Mike and I serve as sounding boards and judges for the competition.”
“With my position at Duquesne University in both the community pharmacy and the ambulatory care center, we utilize point-of-care testing and physical assessment with almost every patient we see,” Higginbotham said. “It is wonderful to create a case and competition that allows the students to utilize this skill set and prep them for clinical pharmacy services that can take with them as they move forward in their career.”
To prepare for the live competition, each student was given a packet of information about a patient visiting his or her pharmacy, including a pharmacy profile of the patient. Competitors then interviewed a judge acting as the patient and had the opportunity to ask questions to gather additional information.
The Point-of-Care Disease Management Competition is not a skills competition. The “patients” had access to all the necessary test results and could provide them if competitors asked. Competitors were limited to one point-of-care test during the interview portion, and then made recommendations to the patient for care on the day of the visit and for follow-up care, when appropriate.
“The students are assessed based on presentation skills, clinical reasoning, and knowledge of point-of-care testing services and laboratory values,” Higginbotham explained. “We are looking for a winner that overall is focused on patient focused care incorporating clinical pharmacy skills and physical assessment.”
Three students competed in the 2017 competition: Paige Mayer, South College Tennessee; Samuel Kubas, Duquesne University; and Jacob Duncan, University of Nebraska Medical Center.
“The students were all remarkable!” Klepser said, who served as a judge at this year’s competition, but Jacob Duncan stood out. “Jacob had a systematic way of approaching the case and comprehensively looked at evaluating and treating the patient,” said Higginbotham. “Overall he provided excellent care.”
Duncan received a $250 stipend for his accomplishment.
Next year’s competition will be held at the 2018 Next Generation Dx Summit held in Washington, DC, August 21-24. Details about the Pharmacy Student Point-of-Care Disease Management Competition will be released in December 2017.
*Next Generation Dx Summit; August 15-18, 2017; Washington D.C. The event was sponsored by Cambridge Healthtech Institute, the parent company of
Diagnostics World News.