Computerized documentation of activities of Pharm.D. clerkship students

A method for documenting the contributions of entry-level Pharm.D. clerkship students at a teaching hospital is described. Between mid-September 1995 and April 1996, students were asked to use a cost-accounting software program to document time spent on various activities associated with inpatient pharmacy services. The system was already being used for documenting the clinical activities of staff pharmacists; pharmacists entered activities in the same way that they entered medication orders, using a mnemonic for a clinical activity in place of a drug name and time spent on the activity in place of a dosage. Pharmacist preceptors verified the students' entries. Eleven students reported 3,466 clinical events. Thirty-five pharmacists reported 54,299 clinical events during the same period. Students were responsible for 42.5% of the initial patient work-ups reported, 34.0% of the patient information and education episodes, and 24.6% of the inservice programs for physicians. On the basis of documented student contributions to the clinical workload, the pharmacy department requested additional clerkship students. The following year, 16 clerkship students were assigned to the department and the program was expanded to year-round clerkships. Pharmacy clerkship students contributed to the productivity data of a teaching hospital. Documentation of the students' contributions led to an expansion of the clerkship program.