Pharmacist perceptions of CliftonStrengths^® themes important for success in advanced cardiovascular life support

Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) is an integrated, team-based approach to optimizing patient outcomes during acute cardiovascular events. Due to the fast-paced, high-stress environment, inherent strengths may impact performance and confidence with ACLS skills. The objective of this study was to assess pharmacist perceptions regarding strengths deemed important during emergency cardiovascular response.

An electronic survey was administered to members of the American College of Clinical Pharmacists Critical Care, Cardiology, Internal Medicine, Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics Practice and Research Network listservs. The survey assessed the top 5 strengths deemed important for being part of an emergency response team, a pharmacist's role in ACLS and a team leader's role in ACLS. The primary outcome was top strengths required for pharmacist involvement in ACLS. Descriptive statistics were used to present survey results.

Of the 359 responses included, nearly all respondents had been certified by the American Heart Association in ACLS and/or Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS). The top CliftonStrengths^® themes considered important for a pharmacist's role in ACLS were communication, adaptability, analytical, focus and responsibility. The top CliftonStrengths^® themes considered important for the team leader's role in ACLS were communication, command, analytical, focus and adaptability. The top CliftonStrengths^® themes important for an emergency response team were communication, adaptability, focus, analytical and command.

By determining the personality traits perceived to be associated with high performance in ACLS, approaches can be taken to personalize student learning in order to train "practice-ready" pharmacists that can be integral members of the ACLS team.