Description

By Thomas D. Zlatic Ph.D.

Re-visioning Professional Education: An Orientation to Teaching ACCP's book Re-visioning Professional Education: An Orientation to Teaching presents educational principles that describe how learning takes place and offers a vision for the type of education required to prepare practitioners for providing pharmaceutical care. This newly released book is designed for both new and experienced clinical faculty and preceptors.

Author Thomas D. Zlatic, PhD, Professor of English and Director of the Writing Center at St. Louis College of Pharmacy, St. Louis, MO, invites readers to take instructional approaches beyond conveyance of information and to embrace a philosophy, style, and manner of teaching that leads students to master the general and professional abilities necessary for competent pharmacy practice.

Dr. Zlatic discusses the nature of teaching, addressing the premise that teaching, as a profession, is based on fiducial or covenantal relationships. He makes a strong case for clinical educators promoting an active learning that prepares practitioners to provide pharmaceutical care in all its dimensions, including knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values. He presents rationales for incorporating higher order thinking into the pharmacy curriculum and offers strategies for active learning to motivate students to attain educational goals related to the mission of pharmacy practice.

Chapter topics include defining and teaching critical thinking within professional contexts, devising active learning strategies that help students to practice professional abilities, using assessment to structure learning, and employing writing to learn methodologies within professional courses and practice experiences. Although he states in the book's preface that Re-visioning Professional Education is more an orientation to pharmacy education than a "how-to" book, Dr. Zlatic nonetheless presents a wealth of practical teaching tips throughout the book, in addition to addressing the philosophical basis of teaching.