4/15/2015 AACP resolutions Submitted by the Global Pharmacy Education-SIG Ad-Hoc Resolutions Committee Members: Lauren Jonkman (Chairwoman), Suzanna Gim, Shaun Gleason, David Ombengi, Gina Prescott, Anna Ratka, Naser Alsharif, Emily Dornblaser Background: In response to the expansion of interest in international partnerships, the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy’s (AACP) Strategic Plan included goal 1.4.1: “coordinate the development of a best practices model for Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE) international experiential rotations.”1 The Global Pharmacy Education Special Interest Group (GPE SIG) was charged in 2011 by AACP to spearhead the development of this goal and an ad hoc committee was established to address current practices for G/I APPEs. Initial meetings of the ad hoc committee identified five areas for consideration: school/college of pharmacy needs; host country issues; host site/institution related factors; preceptor needs; and student issues. A report was submitted to the AACP Board of Directors in September 2013 with the purpose of soliciting more discussion within the academy stakeholders regarding practices for G/I APPEs. The GPE SIG continued work in this area, and this year, two white papers were completed and submitted to AJPE. Both papers built on the initial report and provide an in-depth description of the identified areas. A third paper is being prepared to address hosting non-US students for G/I pharmacy education experiences/training at US institutions. The submitted papers included specific recommendations based on a review of the literature and the collective experience of several pharmacy educators involved in G/I outreach with an emphasis on pharmacy education. The following resolutions are based on the recommendations from the two white papers. Resolutions: 1) AACP supports, in conjunction with ACPE, the development, implementation, and evaluation of global health and international pharmacy education (G/I PE) within the didactic and experiential curriculum for U.S. PharmD students; the development of evaluation criteria for assessing student readiness for G/I PE, partner and school readiness for hosting and supporting students in these experiences; and the development of guidelines and resources that support the efforts of schools and colleges of pharmacy in developing global health and international training for student pharmacists and post-graduate trainees from the U.S. and abroad. (combination of resolution 1,2,3,4,7) a. With the continued emphasis on developing students as global citizens, we feel that inclusion of global health and international pharmacy practice is an essential component of the PharmD curriculum. We recognize that not all students can have an international experience during pharmacy school, so it is critical that material be included into the didactic curriculum to provide all students with minimum competency in global health. b. Further, Schools and Colleges of Pharmacy are increasingly interested in developing and expanding opportunities for global health and international partnerships. We respectfully request AACP to support relevant SIGs (GPE, public health, HDCC) to develop exemplar materials for access online. These materials and resources would address the needs of US institutions for both sending and receiving students and could be used by institutions in other countries as well. Specific needs may include: i. A list of global and international APPE sites vetted by other institutions: this would support and facilitate the exchange of information on programs that might accept students from different institutions. We encourage schools of pharmacy, in the spirit of international collaboration, to partner with others to provide better support and patient care in other countries. ii. A forum for networking, collaboration, and sharing resources for pharmacy educators, student pharmacists, postgraduate trainees and programs involved in global health and/or international pharmacy education. iii. A list of experts within other schools and colleges of pharmacy who have experience working with specific regions or countries who might be able to advise in the development, implementation, and facilitation of international and global APPEs. c. Finally, US Schools and Colleges of Pharmacy are increasingly hosting pharmacy students, educators, and post-graduates from other countries. It is critical that the same level of rigor and continuous quality improvement/assurance should be applied to programs for international learners. Attention should be paid to all aspects addressed for US students, with specific attention to the qualifications of the US preceptor(s), with a concerted and sincere effort to ensure that the international visitors experience is rich, fulfilling, and meets the educational outcome expected from their specific experiential experience. Efforts should be exerted also to ensure that the experience is not limited to observation but rather to gain hands on knowledge and skills. To do this, schools and colleges of pharmacy will need to coordinate with respective Board of Pharmacy to determine the extent to which these experiences are logistically and legally possible. 2) AACP supports and recognizes the importance of adequately prepared preceptors, including non-pharmacists and non-US-based preceptors, for global health and international APPEs and training programs. a. We want to highlight the value and relevance of non-pharmacists and nonUS-based preceptors for students and other learners completing experiences in other countries. We believe that these preceptors are valuable assets for learning and development. In fact, local experts can often be more appropriate preceptors for our students in these experiences and their value shouldn’t be minimized. 3) AACP supports and encourages collaborative scholarship in the area of global health and international pharmacy education and practice. a. Collaborative scholarship refers to the inclusion of collaborators from multiple countries. It can also refer to interprofessional collaboration, but really was intended to address the need for research that is not one-sided but includes local experts and can assist in capacity strengthening. We feel that any research being undertaken in another country should include collaborators from the local environment.