UAMS Teaching Certificate Program Summer Seminar
Dates of Activities: July 2022
Setting: The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Length: 30 minutes
Description of Activity: As a second-year participant in the Teaching Certificate Program, I was graciously asked to present information that I had learned during the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Teacher's Seminar (further details in Selective Activities). This led to a discussion on how to formulate a lesson plan that could be adapted to fit the individual needs of learners. This opportunity was a great start to teaching this year and also helped put me in the proper mindset for developing lesson plans for my future learners.
Experience of Learners: First and second-year pharmacy residents
Comfort level: I felt confident with this material because it was information I had recently learned during the Teacher's Seminar. Because the knowledge was fresh on my mind, it was easy to share with others. The length of the presentation was not incredibly long, so I was initially a little nervous about running over on time. There were also some technical difficulties that made it hard to present at the time but taught me how to roll with variables that you are presented with while teaching.
Method of Teaching/Assessment: During this session was the first time that I had used PollEverywhere as a means of asking questions during the presentation. It was helpful because it encouraged involvement from the learners in the audience without forcing them to answer questions out loud. I was also able to save the answers to the questions so that I knew how to improve my in-class questions for the future. This was a lecture-style presentation, but I encourage a large amount of audience involvement. I did not want to simply lecture on the material I had learned but instead have the learners think of ways they would implement the lesson planning process into their educational plans.
Goals addressed:
Goal 1: Promote learner involvement through interactive learning activities.
Goal 3: Develop lesson plans that are effective for the lecture style, topic, and learners.
Reflection: This experience helped set the tone for my second year in the Teaching Certificate Program. I believe that it helped me focus on the material that I had learned during the Teacher's Seminar. Explaining the information to others helped further my understanding of the material, as well. The learners were able to evaluate my teaching following the presentation and appeared to have an overall positive experience. This was one of the first times I had a true technology failure while teaching, so I was glad that it was a productive environment to learn how to adapt on the fly. I think that this experience helped me become more confident in my teaching abilities.
Materials: TCP Presentation
Evaluations: Learner Evaluation TCP
Pharmacy Journal Clubs
Dates of Activities: 2/22/2022, 3/8/2022, and 3/22/2022
Setting: Arkansas Children's Hospital Pharmacy Conference Room
Length: 30 minutes
Description of Activity: The pharmacy department at Arkansas Children's Hospital provides bi-weekly journal clubs to help pharmacists stay up-to-date on the most recent published material regarding pharmacy. These presentations provided continuing education credit for pharmacists. They were presented in person with a virtual option for attending.
Experience of Learners: Licensed pharmacists
Comfort level: This was the first time that I had done a formal journal club since becoming a pharmacist. I was initially nervous during my first presentation but grew more confident as I presented more. I think that these presentations helped me become more confident in my ability to design a presentation in a short amount of time due to the quick turnaround between presentations.
Method of Teaching/Assessment: Due to the virtual component of this presentation, it was mostly taught as a lecture. During the presentation, however, there were multiple times that I stopped and asked questions about the material and discussed how it related to the current practices at Arkansas Children's Hospital. Following the presentation, I gauged the learners' understanding of the material by asking further follow-up questions and by asking for their feedback on the material.
Goals addressed:
Goal 1: Promote learner involvement through interactive learning activities.
Goal 3: Develop lesson plans that are effective for the lecture style, topic, and learners.
Reflection: Through the pharmacy journal clubs, I became more confident in my ability to develop lessons. There was not a long turnaround time from one presentation to the next. Because of this, I had to stay focused on assuring that I knew the material appropriately and could formulate the lesson in a way that I could explain it to fellow pharmacists. These sessions were some of my later teaching opportunities, so I was also able to practice my ability to time lectures and be more efficient on the material that I was giving in my allotted time period.
Materials: Pathophysiology of Sepsis; Management of Critically Ill Infants and Children; Bivalirudin in Pediatric Cardiac Surgeries
Evaluations: Sepsis Pharmacy Journal Club Learner Evaluation; Critically Ill Pharmacy Journal Club Learner Evaluation; Bivalirudin Pharmacy Journal Club Learner Evaluation; Critically Ill Pharmacy Journal Club Peer Evaluation; Critically Ill Pharmacy Journal Club Mentor Evaluation
Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit APRN Education
Dates of Activities: 4/20/2022
Setting: Virtual Meeting through Microsoft Teams
Length: 20 minutes
Description of Activity: During a monthly meeting of the advance practice registered nurses who work in the cardiovascular intensive care unit at Arkansas Children's Hospital, I was able to present on common medications we use for gastrointestinal disorders and some new monitoring for our antiplatelet agents. This activity was designed to provide professional development for the APRNs in the unit and keep them up-to-date on best practices.
Experience of Learners: Advance Practice Registered Nurses
Comfort level: Because of my familiarity with the cardiovascular intensive care unit and its providers, I was comfortable providing this information. I knew what the best practices were for each of the medications and monitoring labs, so the clinical information was not difficult for me. I have also worked with these providers for several months at this point and knew what to expect when teaching them in this setting.
Method of Teaching/Assessment: I provided the information through a handout that I guided the learners through. This was a discussion-based lesson rather than a lecture. We talked about their current practice and what they felt needed to change to best benefit the patients in the unit. I believe that it was one of the best lessons I had taught in terms of audience engagement. I did not formally assess my learners but did as questions at the end regarding the material that was taught. I provided feedback on their knowledge of the material and made suggestions on how to change their current practice to fit published data on the information.
Goals addressed:
Goal 1: Promote learner involvement through interactive learning activities.
Goal 2: Provide a variety of objective and quality written and verbal feedback to promote learner growth.
Goal 3: Develop lesson plans that are effective for the lecture style, topic, and learners.
Reflection: This experience was similar to a learning activity I completed last year where I taught a lesson in the college of medicine. It was similar because I needed to tailor my information to the skill set of an APRN rather than the skillset of a pharmacist. Because of this change, I was slightly out of my normal teaching comfort zone, but I was able to remain confident due to my overall knowledge of the material and my learners. I think that to step outside of my normal comfort zone, I must still have comfort in some aspects of the teaching experience. This experience helped me look at the information that I knew well from a pharmacy standpoint and explain it to someone with less pharmacology training.
Materials: ARUs and PRUs; GI Motility and GI Prophylaxis Medications