Marketa Marvanova, chair and associate professor of pharmacy practice, has received a $3,785 grant from North Dakota Board of Pharmacy to develop dementia-related training for state pharmacists.
The project is titled “Targeted Education in Dementia-related Care for North Dakota Pharmacists,” and will include two free, five-hour workshops and a free three-credit home study course.
The training is a continuation of a research project on dementia-related care in the U.S. where researchers identified gaps in pharmacists’ knowledge and a lack of high quality continuing education in the area.
“The goal is to ensure availability of high quality pharmacist-specific continuing education and training in dementia care in order to serve better our aging populations in North Dakota,” Marvanova said, noting she hopes the training program serves as a model for other states. “It is our sincere hope that this initiative can improve patient care in North Dakota and also eliminate or reduce healthcare disparities.”
Researchers also will assess the impact of the knowledge improvement for Alzheimer’s disease-related care gained from the two live workshops and three-credit home study.
Marvanova said tentative plans call for one workshop to be held on the NDSU campus for up to 30 pharmacists in February or March, followed by a similar workshop in either Bismarck or on the NDSU campus during May or June.
The three-credit home study continuing education program for state pharmacists is expected to be released in May or June.
Interested North Dakota pharmacists should contact Marvanova at marketa.marvanova@ndsu.edu.
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