SOLVING DRUG-RELATED PROBLEMS IN THE PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE PROGRAM

This study compared the ability of Professional Experience Program (PE P) clerkship students with zero, one, and three semesters of didactic training with the Pharmacist's Work-up of Drug Therapy (PWDT) approach in identifying and solving drug-related problems (DRP's). This proble m-solving approach has been incorporated into the Clinical Clerkship p ortion of the Professional Experience Program of senior pharmacy stude nts at two local medical center hospitals for the previous three years . For the last two years, this approach has been incorporated into the didactic curriculum via the Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics course s, a three semester sequence of study taught to all fourth-year and fi fth-year pharmacy students. The average number of accepted DRPs per pa tient was 1.44, 1.35, and 1.07, respectively, for 1990, 1991, and 1992 clerkship students. Students with didactic coursework, however, did h ave a significantly higher percentage of real DRPs and identified a hi gher percentage of actual versus potential DRPs compared to those stud ents without formal didactic training with the DRP approach. Students without didactic training were more likely to identify drug interactio ns and adverse drug reactions as DRPs, compared with students with did actic training who were more likely to identify drugs without indicati ons and underdosing of medications. Antibiotics were the most likely g roup of drugs to be identified with DRPs by all three student groups. Students with didactic training using the PWDT and DRP approach to cli nical pharmacy practice were better able to identify real DRPs compare d to students without formal didactic training. The optimum amount of formal didactic training is unknown.