Arlington, Va. – Building on the positive outcomes and engagement in the initial phase of the Test2LearnTM Community-Based Pharmacogenomics Certificate Program, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS), in partnership with the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy, today announced plans to expand the national tour to three new locations: Duke University in Durham, N.C., Chapman University’s School of Pharmacy located in Irvine, Calif., and The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.
We are providing community pharmacy with an education program that trains pharmacists to improve patient outcomes through a more personalized and tailored approach to medicine.
Pharmacogenomics is an emerging field of study that combines pharmacology and genomics to ensure that medications are used in a safe and effective manner based on a person’s genetic makeup. The certificate program is designed to enhance pharmacist skills to help to ensure that the right patient is getting the right medicine at the right dose using genetic test results.
NACDS and the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy adapted Test2LearnTM from an innovative University platform that enables students to learn by using real genetic data in highly-interactive exercises. The certificate program is comprised of online home study modules and in-person live components, including an optional activity for learners to undergo personal genomic testing. In addition to the in-person aspect of the program, pharmacist participants will also learn how to administer the training to others during the “train-the-trainer” component of the course.
“We are providing community pharmacy with an education program that trains pharmacists to improve patient outcomes through a more personalized and tailored approach to medicine,” said NACDS President & CEO Steven C. Anderson, IOM, CAE. “The inaugural Test2LearnTM tour generated a great deal of interest and positive feedback from participants and faculty, so we are delighted to be able to expand the tour to include additional locations in the Midwest, South and on the West Coast.”
Test2LearnTM teaches the principles of pharmacogenomics as well as its practical implications in disease states such as cardiology, oncology, neurology and infectious diseases, among others. It trains pharmacists to decipher genetic tests, translate that information, and make appropriate recommendations for the patient, including clinical decision making, interpretation of patient results, and counseling and collaboration with prescribers to help optimize patient medication regimens.
The program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) as a Practice-based Continuing Pharmacy Education activity, as defined by ACPE. The online home study module and the one-day live in-person module total approximately 20 credit hours of pharmacogenomics educational content. Program participants have the unique opportunity to use an anonymous genomic data set, or their own personal data, for the in-person educational module.
The first two-day event will occur April 10-11 at Duke University in Durham, NC, and subsequent tours will be April 27-28 at Chapman University’s School of Pharmacy located in Irvine, Calif., and May 18-19 at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. Register at NACDS.org/pharmacogenomics-certificate-program/. Additional tour stops for 2017 will be announced later this spring. Faculty will include representatives of the University of Pittsburgh. Voluntary genetic testing is through the company 23andMe.
