*caution* this is a long blog.
So, for one of my classes (the same one i was complaining about when i was talking about when the mean guy tried to trick me for my counseling section)....i'd say about 60-70% of the class is failing...myself included (but in the dumbest way...keep reading).
The way the class is set up it so dumb...the entire class consists of a lecture and 4 separate lab sections (5 total) each worth 20% of your grade. To pass the class, you need a 70 in each section. AND each section is broken down into two subsection and you need a 70 in each subsection to pass as well. So, everyone is basically doing well in ALL the sections EXCEPT the section that is supposed to resemble a community pharmacy.
The community section is broken down into two parts....couseling (where they try to trick you into saying the wrong thing) and dispensing (where you play the pharmacists and you have two third years as technicians). SO...here lies our dilemna......in real life, when you pick up a prescription, you get a computer print out, correct? And on the print out are like side effects and stuff that the patient should know. So...for the community section, they keep telling us how important it is for us to do well because it resembles real life.
So, in class, we don't have print outs....we have to handwrite EVERYTHING.....AND they grade us on what we write...that's where everyone loses their points. We have to write counseling points (what you would tell the patient about the med) and monitoring parameters (what the pharmacist would ask for and monitor to see if the patients are using the meds correctly). So, i will give you an example of their grading system.
If you include any of the monitoring parameters in the counseling section, it is -50 points. Why? i don't know. Is it harming the patient by telling them what we would be looking for to monitor their progress? no. And some of the monitoring parameters ARE counseling points...like if you're on an anti-coagulant...you would tell the patient to watch for excessive bleeding....that's a monitoring parameter AND a counseling point...there's no black and white.
Another example....we have to make interventions on "wrong" prescriptions...we have a prof playing the fake doctor. So, when you call, you never know what they're going to say.....so sometimes you need to call back because you want to be sure and you want to look stuff up first. If you call the doctor more than once, -75 points. Why? i don't know. Will it harm the patient for the pharmacist to be extra sure before recommending a new drug? no.
If you miss ANY counseling point or montoring parameter, -20 per missed point. If you include any counseling point or monitoring parameter that they think is unnecessary, -20 per unnecessary point. So, basically, if your counseling points/monitoring parameters are not EXACTLY what the grader thinks is correct, you will get -20's throughout. And there's no absolutely correct # of counseling points/monitoring....it's all subjective....it depends on how much you think the patient needs to know. SO basically, it's up to the grader to decide how much he/she thinks should be included.
If you do not capitalize the patient's name, -10 points per missed capitalization.
We use binders to hold the prescriptions...and you put the bottle label on the prescription instead of real bottles. If you place the label so that it is covering a binder hole, -15 points. What this has to do with the actual dispensing of medication? i don't know.
So....as you can see, it is VERY easy to explain why the class average is a 40. you cover the binder hole...you don't capitalize the patient's name....you give one extra counseling point....BAM...40.
It is VERY frustrating because in reality, no one even writes out counseling points....so all these deductions are totally irrelevant to pharmacy practice. The only deduction I agree with are if the label is wrong, if they picked the wrong drug, or if they missed an intervention. All these other little things are stupid because they come as a print out in real life. I have classmates who have worked in retail pharmacy for 5 years and are failing this portion of the class because they say there are no similarities between real life and the lab.
SO.....basically, everyone is doing well in ALL the other sections of the class. Each section is taught by different prof's....and the other sections (e.g. hospital pharmacy....ambulatory pharmacy) are very representative of what working there is like. And it's very fair....and everyone that is failing is failing because of the community section.
People have spoken to the dean about it and all he can say is, "i don't know what to say....so many people have complained about it". Um...it's called do something.
So, as of now, i am not doing well because i like to be thorough and i am one of those people that writes "too many" counseling points...although i think there is no such thing as too many....especially since i am writing everything in that the references say should be counseling upon (we don't make these things up...we look them up and write them down.). SO does that mean all the databases and textbooks are wrong?! that they have too many counseling points?
IT IS SO RETARDED.
BUT....i am part of the 5th year curriculum focus group. THere's 8 of us...and we're meeting tomorrow with the heads of all the 5th year classes....so we can say our shpiel about what needs to be changed. You can trust me....i have a LOT to say.
i think i have a sinus infection. i get sinus pains right at the bridge of my nose and around my eye sockets and the front of my forehead. It's so bad that i've been woken up the past two nights from the pain. Not good....i've been alternative between being totally congested and totally like spewing out snot. It's rather gross. I sleep with the tissue box next to me and by the time the night is over, i have a MOUNTAIN of tissues on my window sill. Usually, i'll have snot in my nose, but since i'm so congested, i can't get enough air through to blow it out...so i have to use the milking method and squeeze it out!!!
Recent Comments