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Today’s health environment requires savvy professionals who know how to keep up with the overwhelming amount of information, how to understand what an article really says, how to apply the results of an article to patient care, and how to translate the information to patients.
Teaching Students to Read... Steven Chen, Pharm.D., is a clinical pharmacist in primary care. Jeff McCombs, Ph.D., is a health economist whose research looks into patient outcomes and cost effectiveness. Both are associate professors at the USC School of Pharmacy who team teach “Pharmacy Literature Analysis and Drug
Noushin Lavian, Pharm.D. candidate 2010, discusses a study with Professor Jeff McCombs.
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WINTER 2007 – 2008 | USC PHARMACY MAGAZINE
Information”. The required course is taught to level 2 Pharm.D. students. Dr. McCombs pushes the students to evaluate literature while Dr. Chen guides them towards applying the results of published trials to the care of patients. Most students in the course have already been out in the field as interns, learning first hand how important it is to be able to explain recent research findings to patients. Their interest in the course is evident at a break during the 3-hour session, when a throng of students gathers around McCombs for questions and further discussion. “My goal is to get students into the details of the article. I want them to dissect the tables associated with an article’s findings, understanding the data and enable them to come up with their own conclusions,” says McCombs. The students get it and quickly recognize the value of the skills that McCombs is teaching. “Learning how to assess research papers to better understand what a paper tells you and what it doesn’t tell you is what this course is all about,” says student Carlos Davila. “Researchers have some leeway—allowing them to sometimes skew results toward their own point of view.” Davila is leaning toward a career in community pharmacy, an environment where patients will look to him for insights into