This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Suchanek Hudmon, K. Articles by Liang, D. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Suchanek Hudmon, K. Articles by Liang, D.

Training Future Pharmacists at a Minority Educational Institution: Evaluation of the Rx for Change Tobacco Cessation Training Program

¹ Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT; ² Department of Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA; ³ Department of Epidemiology, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX; and ⁴ Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Texas Southern University, Houston, TX

Requests for reprints: Karen Suchanek Hudmon, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Yale University School of Medicine, 60 College Street, PO Box 208034, New Haven, CT 06520-8034. Phone: (203) 785-7367. E-mail: karen.hudmon{at}yale.edu

Objective: To estimate the impact of Rx for Change, an 8-h tobacco cessation training program on pharmacy students' perceived counseling skills, confidence for counseling, and future counseling of patients for tobacco cessation. Methods: Unlinked, pre- and post-training surveys were administered to 142 pharmacy students enrolled at Texas Southern University, a primarily minority and historically black educational institution. Results: Post-training counseling abilities were significantly improved over pretraining values for each of the five key components of tobacco cessation counseling (Ask, Advise, Assess, Assist, and Arrange), overall counseling abilities, and confidence for counseling (P < 0.001). Racial/ethnic differences in self-reported overall counseling was observed (P = 0.01). Ninety-one percent of participants believed that the training would increase the number of patients whom they counsel for cessation, and 95% believed that it would improve the quality of counseling that they provide. At least 95% of participants believed that the pharmacy profession should be more active in preventing patients from starting smoking and helping patients to stop smoking. Conclusion: The Rx for Change program had a positive impact on perceived abilities and confidence for providing tobacco cessation counseling to patients. While it is important that all current and future health care providers receive specialized tobacco cessation training, it is particularly important for clinicians of racial/ethnic minority backgrounds, who are more likely to practice in geographic areas with a high density of population subgroups at an elevated risk for tobacco-related mortality. In particular, pharmacists, who are uniquely positioned within the community to provide care to all patients, including the medically underserved, must be equipped with the necessary skills to assist patients with quitting.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				N. M. Stack and A. J. Zillich Implementation of inpatient and outpatient tobacco-cessation programs Am. J. Health Syst. Pharm., October 1, 2007; 64(19): 2074 - 2079. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				G. M. Leung, S. S. C. Chan, J. M. Johnston, S. K. K. Chan, P. P. S. Woo, I. Chi, and T.-H. Lam Effectiveness of an Elderly Smoking Cessation Counseling Training Program for Social Workers: A Longitudinal Study Chest, April 1, 2007; 131(4): 1157 - 1165. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K S. Hudmon, C M Fenlon, R L Corelli, A V Prokhorov, and S A Schroeder Tobacco sales in pharmacies: time to quit Tob. Control, February 1, 2006; 15(1): 35 - 38. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. Sudbo, R. Samuelsson, B. Risberg, S. Heistein, C. Nyhus, M. Samuelsson, R. Puntervold, E. Sigstad, B. Davidson, A. Reith, et al. Risk Markers of Oral Cancer in Clinically Normal Mucosa As an Aid in Smoking Cessation Counseling J. Clin. Oncol., March 20, 2005; 23(9): 1927 - 1933. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B Eule, M K Sullivan, S A Schroeder, and K S Hudmon Merchandising of cigarettes in San Francisco pharmacies: 27 years later Tob. Control, December 1, 2004; 13(4): 429 - 432. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]