RESPONSIBILITIES

STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES

It is the student’s responsibility to:

1. Maintain current Professional Liability Insurance. The cost of this insurance is included in your tuition. Please check your statement to confirm this.  If, for some reason, it does not appear on your statement, contact the Assistant Director, Experiential Learning Programs (Ms. Anna Schmotzer). An insurance certificate can be provided by the School if required.

2. Complete all site-specific prerequisites, such as background checks, drug screenings, inservices, etc., in time to avoid delay or cancellation of rotation. Delays or cancellations because of inadequate preparation for a rotation may results in the inability to complete the course or rotation requirements in time to progress with your class.

3. Seek help from the preceptor or another pharmacist when unsure of expectations, practice responsibilities, treatment protocols, or drug information. Do not publicly question or dispute guidance by the preceptor. Discuss any disagreements in private.

4.  Make sure that professional decisions and tasks are adequately monitored. NO STUDENT IS TO DISPENSE A FINAL PRODUCT OR MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS WITHOUT FIRST CONSULTING THE PHARMACIST PRECEPTOR FOR REVIEW AND APPROVAL.

5. Be aware of and comply with all laws, rules and regulations, which govern pharmacy practice.

6. Comply with the School and University policy on immunization (See General Appendices, Immunization requirements).

7. Participate actively and communicate effectively in all areas of practice. Passive observation is not an effective or acceptable approach to experiential learning.

8. Students are responsible for completing all criminal background checks and clearances at their own expense. The School has contracted with CastleBranch, Inc. to house all of this information. (see instructions in General Appendices Criminal Background).

9. Fully complete all required hours of training at experiential sites and provide accurate and complete documentation of time as directed. Obtain verification by the preceptor or other pharmacist of hours spent at the site on the Hours Documentation form as required by certain IPPE activities.

10. Be punctual and reliable in your attendance. The Absence Request Policy must be followed by all students. The student must notify the preceptor if (s)he will be late, and both the preceptor and the experiential learning director if (s)he will be absent. Absences for reasons other than illness or emergencies may be granted at the discretion of the Director of Experiential Learning and the preceptor. An Absence Request Form must be submitted to the Director of Experiential Learning in advance for approval, unless the absence is due to an emergency. Missed hours must be made up at the convenience of the preceptor.  The Absence Request Form can also be on the home page of E*Value at  https://www.e-value.net/home-main.cfm. Credits toward licensure requirements and academic completion are both based upon completion of the required number of hours at experiential sites

11. Recognize that unexcused absence may be grounds for an incomplete or failing grade.

12. Maintain your own health insurance coverage. Students may be exposed to patients with communicable diseases. Although the risk is minimal, students should exercise caution and follow the advice of their preceptor. Conversely, students who have an infectious disease that may be transmitted to a patient, such as an upper respiratory infection or gastroenteritis, should notify their preceptor so that appropriate steps can be taken to minimize exposure to the patient.

13. Transportation to and from an experiential learning site, as well as, any parking costs are the student’s responsibility.

14. Housing during fourth-year rotations that are geographically distant from the University is the student’s responsibility.

15. Students must have certification in basic CPR. The School will arrange for CPR certification classes during the P1 and P3 years; however students may also obtain certification on their own. The course is approved by the American Heart Association and is arranged by the Center for Emergency Medicine on the University of Pittsburgh campus.  Students who are already certified must provide proof of certification to the Assistant Director, Experiential Learning Program.  Proof of certification must must be uploaded on your CastleBranch certified background profile.

16. Students must attend all on-campus debriefing sessions.

17. Students will be responsible for completing evaluations of themselves, their preceptors, and the rotation sites as directed by course coordinators. Failure to complete the necessary evaluations on time may result in a grade of Unsatisfactory for the course or rotation.

18. ANY STUDENT WHO DOES NOT COMPLY WITH THE GENERAL REQUIREMENTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING WILL NOT SATISFACTORILY COMPLETE THE COURSE.

 

PRECEPTOR RESPONSIBILITIES

  1. Assume primary responsibility for the student(s) assigned to the site
  2. Preceptors may designate selected teaching responsibility to pharmacy or medical residents, working cooperatively with a designated faculty member, or other qualified pharmacy practitioners that are deemed appropriate.
  3. Provide orientation and definition of activities.
  4. Ensure students are aware of assigned responsibilities.
  5. Ensure students understand the requirements to successfully meet the rotation goals and objectives.
  6. Provide a description of student responsibilities, goals and objectives, the rotation schedule and any suggested readings.
  7. Provide an atmosphere and create opportunities for students to accomplish the stated goals and objectives of the learning experience.
  8. Prepare and conduct discussion sessions of selected patient care topics to expand the student’s knowledge base and experiences.
  9. Provide students with frequent and specific feedback on performance, including written evaluations with identification of strengths, weaknesses and progress toward the stated goals and objectives.
  10. Provide guidance and direction for improvement.
  11. Be a role model of professionalism and a strong patient advocate.
  12. Complete required student evaluations and verification of student hours by the completion or end of each rotation experience.

SELECTION CRITERIA FOR PRECEPTORS AND SITES

All preceptors participating in the Experiential Learning Program do so as volunteers and are recognized by the School as Associate Clinical Preceptors for Pharmacy and Therapeutics.  Preceptors receive no financial compensation, but may enjoy other privileges such as access to the university’s Health Sciences Library System and free continuing education.

 Criteria for Preceptor Selection Include the Following:

  1. The preceptor should be a pharmacist in good standing with their home State Board of Pharmacy as required by the practice environment. Preceptors involved with the service learning aspect of the EL Program and with select APPE Elective rotations are exempt from this requirement but must be competent in their field of expertise.
  2. Preceptors must practice ethically, provide services of high quality and show compassion for patients. (Pharmacist preceptors must abide by the Code of Ethics set forth by the American Pharmaceutical Association.)
  3. Preceptors must have sufficient time to organize the student’s experience and be able to document and assess student performance.
  4. Preceptors should engage in professional growth and life-long learning through participation in professional organizations and continuing education programs.
  5. Pharmacist preceptors must provide learning experiences that stress the responsible provision of pharmaceutical care and the optimization of patient drug therapy outcomes.
  6. Preceptors must participate in preceptor training and development activities conducted by the School.
  7. Preceptors should provide a valid e-mail address as the Office of Experiential Learning utilizes e-mail as a primary mean of communication to preceptors.
  8. In selecting pharmacist preceptors, preference is given to pharmacists who:
    • Have developed an innovative practice site
    • Hold an advanced degree or specialty certification
    • Have availability to engage in one or more of the following activities:
    • Frequent and direct patient contact
    • Have opportunities to counsel patients, ideally in a private area
    • Formulate, evaluate and monitor patient drug therapies
    • Interprofessional practice environment
    • Access to medical records
    • Identify and resolve public health problems and health disparities
    • Access to internet for literature and health-related information searches
    • Interpret, prepare, compound and dispense medications
    • Have opportunities for interaction with other health-related agencies
    • Have opportunities for pharmacotherapy/pharmaceutical care research

Prospective preceptors are asked to complete a Preceptor Data Form and a Site Description Form to provide the School with information on education, licensure, professional affiliations, and site characteristics.  In addition, all preceptors are asked to submit a copy of their CV or resume.  The School reviews these materials to determine whether a site and/or preceptor will be able to provide a positive learning experience for our students.  The School may follow-up with a personal visit to the site or a phone call to further assess suitability and to explain how our program works.

Preceptors and sites are evaluated by students after each learning experience, and may also be evaluated by a faculty member via a site visit.  It is each course coordinator’s responsibility to help review student evaluations of preceptors and sites and to identify any issues.  All findings are brought to the attention of the Director of Experiential Learning who incorporates the information into our quality assessment and improvement plan.  If any action is required, it may include telephone calls, site visits, preceptor training, or dismissal from the program.  The results of student evaluations are communicated to preceptors annually.

Criteria for Site Selection Include the Following:

  1. Each practice site shall meet all standards set by relevant regulatory agencies.
  2. Preceptors and sites must be free of any violations of local, state and/or federal laws.
  3. All sites must be clean and should reflect a professional image.
  4. Sufficient reference materials must be available at sites for the provision of information to health professionals and patients.
  5. Students should have access to all relevant patient medical information, including medications, medication use history, and information regarding patient history, physical examination, disease states, and laboratory tests.
  6. All sites must maintain adequate staffing to allow students a meaningful educational experience.
  7. Students must be permitted to perform pharmacist functions under the supervision of the preceptor at pharmacy sites.