Diabetes-focused rotation's impact on student confidence and knowledge

ObjectiveTo assess the impact of a diabetes-focused advanced pharmacy practice experience on students' diabetes-related confidence and knowledge.MethodsA survey tool was created, including 22 confidence and 30 knowledge questions centered on diabetes care. Students entering into a diabetes-focused advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) during rotation 7 served as the intervention group, whereas students without this experience were the control group. Both groups completed the survey before and after rotation 7.ResultsTwenty-two students (13 intervention, 9 control) completed the baseline survey and 14 students (9 intervention, 5 control) completed the follow-up. The intervention group showed a significant improvement in total confidence compared with control (3.92–5.52, p = 0.002). Within-group analyses showed a significant improvement in knowledge in the intervention group (18.6–22.4, p = 0.04) compared with no difference in the control group (17.8–18.3, p = 0.85).ConclusionsThis pilot study suggests that a diabetes-focused APPE improves students' diabetes-related confidence and knowledge.