Clinical training program for staff pharmacists.

This study describes the development and evaluation of a clinical training program in the areas of pharmacokinetics and infectious diseases for staff pharmacists in a decentralized unit dose drug distribution system. Five staff pharmacists were trained and three other pharmacists served as controls. The teaching sessions consisted of eight 1-hour lectures per group of two to three pharmacists. The lectures were supplemented by handouts, reading assignments, and practical assignments. There was a significant improvement in posttest scores of the trained pharmacists when compared to their pretest scores and from the scores of the control pharmacists. In the Seattle VA Medical Center pharmacy, this program was shown to be successful, and a similar program can be used to train staff pharmacists in other clinical areas of interest.