Impact of a Training Program on Pharmacists' Comfort with Pediatric Pharmacy Concepts and Basic Pediatric Knowledge

Abstract

Objective

To determine the impact of a training program on pharmacists' comfort with pediatric pharmacy concepts and basic pediatric knowledge.

Methods

All pharmacists at our institution were invited to participate in the study. Consenting participants completed a baseline survey of 15 questions on basic knowledge in 5 pediatric topic areas (pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics, weight-based dosing, anticoagulation, renal dosing, and common antibiotics) as well as 8 statements rating self-reported comfort with pediatric pharmacy. Following the pretraining survey, a training program combining self-study of handouts on the 5 topics with optional attendance at live education sessions was completed. Participants then completed a posttraining survey of the 5 topics including repeat comfort assessment. The primary outcome was change in self-assigned scores on the comfort-based assessment before and after training.

Results

Fifty-two pharmacists consented to participate. Participants reported significant improvement in 6 of 8 comfort questions after training (p < .001). Those without prior pediatric experience had lower comfort ratings at baseline and showed significant improvement after training for 5 of the 8 questions (p < .001). Significant improvement in the proportion of correct answers on the knowledge assessment occurred after training, regardless of prior experience (61% vs 89%, p < .001).

Conclusions

Self-study training with optional live education resulted in significant improvement in most self-reported comfort scores for pharmacists, particularly those without recent pediatric pharmacy experience. Pharmacists, regardless of experience, improved basic pediatric knowledge scores after training.