Beyond blood sugar: Navigating the complex landscape of diabetes management through a diabetes elective course

Providing optimal care to complex patients can push pharmacists into an unclear gray area, requiring the use of clinical judgment, critical thinking, and problem-solving. Two diabetes-focused elective courses were developed to better prepare student pharmacists for working in this gray area on advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs) and beyond.

The primary objective was to evaluate how completion of a diabetes elective course affected student pharmacists' attitudes and perceived abilities, knowledge, preparedness, and self-efficacy in providing patient care in the real world.

This mixed-methods study evaluated two diabetes-focused pharmacy elective courses to determine outcomes on students a year later and to determine the most impactful course elements. A survey was sent to graduating pharmacy students to compare perceptions of knowledge and abilities, attitudes, and self-efficacy among those who did and did not take the electives. Elective-taking students were invited to participate in virtual interviews to further garner their experiences in caring for patients with diabetes and reflections on the course.

Fifty-four students (42.5 %) completed the survey. Generally, completion of either elective appeared to be statistically related to perceptions of knowledge, skills, and behavioral attitudes, whereas no difference was found for self-efficacy. Eight students participated in one-on-one interviews and two major themes emerged of dealing with the gray areas of patient care and preparation for APPEs.

The study findings suggest that the diabetes electives helped students to be better prepared for their APPE experiences and ultimately take care of patients with diabetes.