Addressing code response challenges: Development of a pharmacist‐focused training program at an Academic Medical Center

Introduction Pharmacists are essential to the multidisciplinary team during code response. Commercially available basic and advanced‐life support training programs are not tailored for the depth of medication‐specific content essential for pharmacists to competently respond to codes. Opportunities exist to provide additional training to improve pharmacists' code response. Objective To develop pharmacist‐specific didactic education and hands‐on assessments for adult code response. Methods At our institution, acute care clinical staff pharmacists attend all adult codes. A mandatory pharmacist training program was designed to meet minimum institutional expectations for code response and address knowledge gaps. The program included three components: (1) online training module, (2) knowledge‐based assessment, and (3) hands‐on assessment. Pharmacists were surveyed pre‐ and post‐completion of the training program. The surveys consisted of 15 Likert scale questions and open‐ended questions. Chi‐square tests were used to compare a “positive” response to pre‐ and post‐survey questions. A “positive” response was defined as “Strongly Agree” or “Agree” on the Likert questions. Results Seventy‐three pharmacists completed the training program with 71 passing the hands‐on skills training on the first attempt. The pre‐ and post‐intervention survey was completed by 43/74 (58.1%) and 33/82 (40.2%) of pharmacists, respectively. A statistically significant increase in the number of “positive” survey responses was noted in 7 of the 15 Likert scale questions post‐intervention, with nominal improvements in the remaining 8. There were notable improvements in pharmacist perceived familiarity and comfort with medication locations (9% vs. 64%) and preparation (44% vs. 76%), and greater confidence in using available resources. Conclusion The pharmacist‐specific code response training resulted in notable improvements in disclosed familiarity and comfort with code responsibilities. This training was transitioned into an annual competency module that may be used as a framework for other institutions implementing a similar process to maintain a standard level of competence in code response for pharmacists.