Objective: All second-year pharmacy students at Appalachian College of Pharmacy (ACP) undertake the early pharmacy practice experiences (EPPE) II. EPPE II is an introductory pharmacy practice experience (IPPE) geriatric course/rotation that occurs over two semesters during the second year. During the course, students are introduced to long-term care/geriatric patients through visits with their assigned patient for an hour each week for 24 weeks. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of the EPPE II rotation on students' attitudes toward nursing facility patients (mostly geriatric) and long-term care.
Study design: Cross-sectional study.
Setting: Academic site.
Participants: Fifty-five second-year Doctor of Pharmacy students at ACP.
Interventions: All ACP students enrolled in the EPPE II course are required to write a one- to two-page reflective essay during the spring term in which they describe the development of their relationship with their patient over time. Students were asked to submit their essays to faculty investigators for use in this study after completing the course. These essays were independently analyzed for content and categorized into themes by two faculty raters.
Main outcome measures: Student learning outcomes.
Results: A total of 55 students voluntarily submitted their reflective essays for inclusion in the study. Most students had positive opinions about the rotation. Overall, students felt that the rotation was rewarding, valuable, worthwhile, and life-changing. Students cited many aspects that they learned from the course: life lessons, what real patient care involves, how to build patient relationships, and disease states and drugs, among others. Most students indicated that they developed a close relationship with their patients and enjoyed visiting with them in the nursing facility.
Conclusion: Many students enjoyed visiting with their nursing facility patients and developed a personal relationship with them. Students also learned many aspects as individuals and as future pharmacists.