Pharmaceutical care- urgency: Proposing a practical clinical framework for pharmacy students

Prioritizing a drug therapy problem (DTP) during an experiential placement is challenging for some pharmacy students, suggesting a gap in pre-placement preparedness and the need to modify existing resources. A modified DTP prioritizing framework is proposed to enhance clinical reasoning and increase students' confidence in performing this important step in the pharmaceutical care process.

Students' baseline DTP prioritizing capability was assessed in an informal focus group consisting of pharmacy students and experienced hospital pharmacy preceptors. Participants ranked the urgency for addressing 47 common medical conditions and selected a time frame to resolve the DTP. Participants also provided feedback on a proposed DTP prioritizing framework. A modified, student-focused DTP prioritizing framework, incorporating elements of curricular knowledge, principal elements of urgency, and time frame for taking action to resolve the identified DTP is described.

Students' DTP urgency rankings were heterogeneous and showed greater deviation from the anticipated ranking (R = 0.61) compared to the pharmacist cohort (R = 0.807), reinforcing our view of the need for a modified DTP prioritizing framework for students. In qualitative terms, students felt the framework's focus on curricular knowledge would contribute to the development of expertise. Preceptors felt the framework reflected their usual practice and would help guide discussions with students.

The modified DTP prioritizing framework, described in this article, may be utilized both to enhance student success and preceptor development in the experiential setting.