Exploring Pharmacy Trainee Experiential Learning in a Full Scope Collaborative Rural Primary Care Practice: A...

Area of Science:

• Pharmacy Practice
• Rural Health
• Primary Care

Background:

• Limited research exists on pharmacy trainee impact in rural primary care.
• Pharmacy trainees are known to benefit hospital settings.
• Rural primary care settings present unique challenges and opportunities for healthcare professionals.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the benefits and impact of pharmacy trainees in a supervised collaborative rural primary care setting.
• To assess the types and significance of drug therapy problems (DTPs) identified by trainees.
• To evaluate the acceptance rate and impact of trainee-led interventions.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective chart review of patient encounters involving pharmacy trainees.
• Classification of DTPs using the Pharmaceutical Care Network Europe (PCNE V9) system.
• Valuation of interventions using the Overhage and Lukes (1999) tool.

Main Results:

• Three pharmacy trainees identified 366 DTPs across 153 patient encounters over 16 weeks.
• Common DTP causes included patient transfers and education needs.
• Interventions requiring prescriber authorization had an 83.25% acceptance rate, 25% higher than urban settings.
• 51% of trainee interventions were classified as significant or very significant.

Conclusions:

• Pharmacy trainees can be effective resources in rural primary care.
• Trainees contribute meaningfully to patient care within collaborative teams.
• Supervised pharmacy trainees enhance the value of pharmacy services in rural communities.