Implementation and impact of a chronic kidney disease elective for second-year pharmacy students

Pharmacists can make a great impact on the management of chronic kidney disease (CKD), which is a highly prevalent and costly disorder. This article describes the implementation and impact of a CKD elective course for second-year pharmacy students, which aimed to expose students to CKD and enhance their ability to care for these patients.

Topics associated with CKD were covered in a fifteen-week, three credit hour course. Various active-learning techniques were utilized, including student presentations of pharmacotherapy and primary literature, team-based learning though patient case discussions, and interactions with standardized and actual patients. Surveys designed to assess students' career goals and level of confidence with assessing primary literature, delivering presentations to peers, working as members of a team, and communicating with patients were administered at the beginning and end of the course.

Twenty-three students (100%) participated in the initial survey, and nineteen (86.4%) participated in the final survey. Students gave more positive responses on the final survey that they were considering a career in ambulatory care (P=0.03), planning to pursue a career in ambulatory care (P=0.02), considering a career in kidney disease management (P=0.02), and planning to pursue a career in kidney disease management (P=0.0498). Students also felt more confident in their ability to assess primary literature (P=0.005) and deliver presentations to their peers (P=0.02).

Courses such as this can expose students to new and unique career paths and help them develop key skills to promote a successful and fulfilling pharmacy career.