Quantification of curricular content devoted to point-of- care testing for infectious diseases in schools and colleges of pharmacy in the United States
Keywords:
Infectious Disease, Point Of Care Tests, Pharmacy CurriculumAbstract
Background: Point of care (POC) testing for infectious diseases represents a potential pharmacy service, but how much education on these tests is included in the professional pharmacy curriculum in the United States (US) is unknown. The aim of this study was to determine the extent to which schools/colleges of pharmacy include such content in their curriculum.
Methods: From August 2012 through June 2013, administrators from 128 schools/colleges of pharmacy were asked to complete an electronic survey.
Results: Complete responses were received from 114 (89.1%) unique institutions. One third (n=38) of responding institutions reported including such content, but the majority (94.7%) of these institutions devoted less than 3 hours to the topic in their curriculum.
Conclusions: United States professional pharmacy programs include little or no educational content regarding POC tests for infectious diseases. Academic pharmacy should explore ways to incorporate practical content regarding POC tests for infectious diseases into the professional curriculum.
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