Use of Supportive Personnel
Round Table Discussion Topic
AACP Laboratory Instructors Special Interest Group Business Meeting 2011
Doctor of Pharmacy Students as Undergraduate Teaching Assistants
in the Laboratory Setting
Objectives:
o Discuss ways (i.e., teaching elective course, work-study, APPE rotation) to utilize Doctor of
Pharmacy students as undergraduate teaching assistants in the laboratory setting.
o Describe teaching assistant selection process and orientation recommendations.
o Describe benefits associated with Doctor of Pharmacy students serving as undergraduate
teaching assistants in the laboratory.
o Discuss feedback from students enrolled in the laboratory course and from the undergraduate
teaching assistants.
Utilizing Doctor of Pharmacy Students as Undergraduate Teaching Assistants:
 The important role of supportive personnel in laboratory instruction is a key issue
Purdue Experience
Enrollment in Pharmacy Practice Teaching
Experience elective course
• Specific Laboratories: Extemporaneous
Compounding Preparation and Interactive
Patient Counseling Abilities (for first
professional year students)
• One academic credit (letter grade), can
repeat course
• ~30 hours/semester
• Typical enrollment
• Responsible for assisting with
teaching/mentoring younger Doctor of
Pharmacy students with direct oversight
by the course professor
Experiential Students (Academia/Education APPE
Rotation)
• Specific example of a laboratory
coordinated by APPE students (i.e.,
Introductory Patient Assessment Skills
Laboratory)
Graduate Teaching Assistants also utilized
St. John Fisher Experience
Enrollment in Advanced Extemporaneous
Compounding elective course
• Available only to third year (P3) pharmacy
students to assist a second year (P2)
compounding course
• One or two credit hours each semester
(involvement in one or two laboratories,
respectively)
• May repeat course for 2 semesters
• Approximately 4 hour commitment
weekly (3 hour lab plus 1 hour prep)
• Course includes a self-reflection paper
• Course is pass/fail
• Utilize 4 TA’s with 1 instructor per
laboratory of 40 students (1:10 ratio)
Utilized work study students as a paid teaching
assistants
• Federally funded
• Available only to third year (P3) pharmacy
students to assist a second year (P2)
compounding course
• Time commitment and responsibilities
are identical to credit teaching assistants
Experiential Students (Academia APPE Rotation)
• Student designs and implements
laboratory under the direction of
laboratory instructor/preceptor
Selection of Teaching Assistants:
• Identify an application or interview process
• Positions become sought after and competitive
• Invite your best students to apply – an invitation from a faculty member can be powerful
Teaching Assistant Orientation:
• Time-consuming and very important
• Organize during first week of the semester or week before classes begin
• Review the student’s role, create schedule, address safety concerns, review issues related to
confidentiality and professionalism
Benefits of using Doctor of Pharmacy Students:
• Effective use of manpower over additional faculty/practitioners
• Provides student with leadership development and exposure to academia as a career
• Undergraduate Teaching Assistants serve as professional role model
Feedback from Students Enrolled in Laboratory Course:
 Positive feedback
 Students agree that assistance is always available throughout the laboratory
 Undergraduate students are knowledgeable and always willing to assist
 Enjoy learning from and getting to know the undergraduate teaching assistants
 Receive comments if grading seems inconsistent between instructors
Feedback/Reflections from Undergraduate Teaching Assistants Regarding the Teaching Experience:
 Helped to improve/increase students' communication skills
 Increased students' awareness and interest in a career in education/academia
 Enjoyed serving as a role model/mentor for the students
 Improved/increased students' knowledge of the subject matter taught
 Enjoyed getting to know course professor and classmates who also served as TA’s
 Learned how to manage my time effectively to be able to TA these courses
 Professional versus friendship?
 Learned that extensive work goes into creating a lab for students
 Learned that you have to adjust teaching methods to different students
Final Comments:
 Ideal (win-win) opportunity for both students and laboratory instructors.
Feel free to contact us if you have any questions:
Jane Krause, RPh, MS
Clinical Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice
Purdue University College of Pharmacy
West Lafayette, IN 47906
Email: jkrause@purdue.edu
Office: 765-494-0800
Christine Birnie, RPh, PhD
Associate Professor and Chair,
Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Wegmans School of Pharmacy
St. John Fisher College
Rochester, NY 14618
Email: cbirnie@sjfc.edu
Office: 585-385-7202