Objective: To cultivate a college-wide culture of safety through implementation of guidance document (PSGD) for creation of written instructional materials.

Background: There is a call to enhance medication safety practices in pharmacy, as supported by the Center for the of Pharmacy Education 2013 Educational Outcomes Domain. However, there is a lack of available literature which addresses standardization of instructional materials which follow these practices. There is variability in medication safety practices based upon clinical practice setting as each is regulated by different advisory and governing bodies.

Methods: TCOP faculty compiled various guidelines {Joint Commission, Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP), Institute for Healthcare Improvement, and the Patient Safety Network} to identify the most pertinent patient safety practices related to abbreviations, units of measure, required components of prescription orders, and high risk and hazardous medications, to create the PSGD as a guide for instructional materials (slides, cases, activities, assessments, etc.). It was approved departmentally and at all faculty meetings & implemented January 2023.

Educational Objectives: The goal is that faculty model the same “language” of medication safety in their teaching. A quality improvement review of educational materials used from Jan – Dec 2023 is being conducted to evaluate compliance with the PSGD. Results will be shared at the symposium. 

Strengths and Innovations:  These include prioritizing medication safety through faculty collaboration and modeling with few resources. Areas for improvement include ongoing accountability checks by course coordinators and reinforcing the need for compliance, and future evaluation of impact on student performance. This innovation could extend throughout all of USF Health where medications are discussed and medication regimens are utilized in instructional materials, leading USF Health to be a top advocate for medication safety best practices.