Frequently Asked Questions
You can print this page if it would be helpful to you.
Last posted 07/06/2009
 

1.    Which fields are required to complete the Rotation Grading Form?
2.    Course numbers
3.    What abilities do I select?
4.    How do I get a hard copy of the grade I have submitted?
5.    How do I get more information on each "ability" category?
6.    The form is not working!
7.    Is there any other way I can submit my grades?
8.    What grade scale do we use to assign the mid-term or final grade?
9.    Contacts for help

1.    Which fields are required to complete the Rotation Grading Form?
All student and course information fields are required except for a female student's maiden name.  Additionally, the "% of grade" column must equal 100% and individual ability grades must be completed or the rotation grade will not be submitted to the College.  The "Check Total %" button at the bottom of the screen can be used to help you do this task and shows the calculated "trial grade" before you submit the final grade to the database.

2.    I forgot my course number.
Click on this link for a listing of course numbers.

3.    What abilities do I select?
Select those abilities that pertain only to your student on the rotation.  All categories of abilities do not have to be selected. The maximum percent of grade for any one ability is 20%, so a minimum of five abilities will have to be selected.  All 24 abilities could be selected as long as the total % of grade equals 100%.  This was done to give the instructors maximum flexibility but not focus on just one competency.  Almost all rotations have indicated that they are associated with over half of the Tennessee 21 Competencies for graduates (that this form is based on).

4.    How do I get a hard copy of the grade I have submitted?
Before you submit a grade, print the web page containing your selections/student's information and the calculated grade for your records.  Even after a grade is submitted, you can return to the completed form by hitting the back button on your browser and the completed form should re-appear. Print a copy of the completed form, if needed for you or the student. 

Some browsers do not print the numbers of the form on the hard copy. For example, the Netscape 6 browser will print the form, but not the numbers. Downloading the free Internet Explorer 6 and using this browser, will fix the problem.  Using browser versions before 4.5 usually do not support JavaScript and the numerical average will not calculate or submit. You can check your browser version by going to the "Help" pull down menu and selecting "About  [name of browser]".

5.    How do I get more information about each "ability" category?
A.     Move your cursor over the ability and additional information will pop up on the screen if you are using Internet Explorer 5.5 or 6 as a browser.

B.    Clarifying descriptions for each ability are also listed below.
1.    Evaluate drug orders or prescriptions, accurately and safely compound drugs in appropriate dosage forms, package and dispense dosage forms;

2.    Manage systems for storage, preparation, and dispensing of medicines, and supervise technical personnel who may be involved in such processes,  Manage and administer a pharmacy and/or pharmacy practice;

3.    Apply computer skills and technological advancements to practice;

4.    Communicate with health care professionals and patients regarding rational drug therapy, wellness, and health promotion;

5.    Design, implement, monitor, evaluate, and modify or recommend modifications in drug therapy to insure effective, safe, and economical patient care;

6.     Identify, assess, and solve medication-related problems, and provide a clinical judgment as to the continuing effectiveness of individualized therapeutic plans and intended therapeutic outcomes;

7.    Evaluate patients and order medications and/or laboratory tests in accordance with established standards of practice;

8.    Evaluate patient problems and triage patients to other health professionals as appropriate;

9.    Administer medications;

10.  Monitor and counsel patients and health care professionals regarding the purposes, uses, and effects of their medications and related therapy;

11.    Understand and be able to convey information on relevant diet, nutrition, and non-drug therapies to patients and other health care professionals;

12.    Provide emergency first care;

13.    Retrieve, evaluate, and manage professional information and literature;

14.    Use clinical data to optimize therapeutic drug regimens;

15.    Collaborate with other health professionals;

16.    Evaluate and document interventions and pharmaceutical care outcomes.

17.    Evaluate your own knowledge base and abilities to perform professional activities as defined and/or demonstrated by your instructors.

18.    Think critically to isolate important factors, develop strategies and solve professional problems related to your patients and practice.

19.    Given a professional situation, make and defend rational, ethical decisions using logical and appropriate standards

20.    Demonstrate that you are appropriately aware, empathetic and/or helpful in relationship to the psychological and social factors of your patients that affect their health status/outcome.

21.    Demonstrate to your instructor that you are aware, that as a competent health care professional you will constantly have to learn new knowledge, skills, attitudes and values as you mature in your profession.

22.    Demonstrate that as you are presented with various professional situations, you can perform in a helpful, caring manner as a health care professional.

23.    Demonstrate that given a project or presentation assignment you can successfully complete the project or presentation to the standards set by your instructor.

24.    Successfully complete all written and/or oral examinations in an appropriate timeframe using guidelines set by your instructor.
 

6. The form is not working!
For technical problems you may want to contact the College webmaster, Len Cleavelin at lcleavelin@utmem.edu or (901) 448-3403.  When contacting Len, please have readily available your operating system and version number (e.g., Windows '98, Windows 2000, Macintosh OS 9, etc.) and your browser and version number (e.g., Internet Explorer 6, Netscape 6.2, etc.).

7. Is there any other way I can submit my grades?
If you have discussed the issue with Len Cleavelin (preferably), or if after several attempts you cannot get the Web based form to work properly,  you have a couple of alternatives to choose from. If you have Microsoft Excel on your computer (Excel 97, Excel 2000 or Excel 2002) you can download an Excel spreadsheet that will perform the grade calculations for you. Click on the hyperlink, and when your browser asks you whether you want to open or save the spreadsheet on your computer, choose "Save". Then open the spreadsheet on your computer in Excel, and then enter the requested information, following the instructions carefully. Print two copies of the spreadsheet, one for your records, and one for submission to the College.

PLEASE NOTE:  So that the spreadsheet can convert the weighted grade average into a letter grade, we have made use of a user defined function in Excel. This involves the use of a "macro", which is basically a small program which does the number grade to letter grade conversion. If Excel's security setting is set to "high", macro processing is disabled and the number grade to letter grade conversion will not work properly. Excel will warn you of this when you attempt to open the spreadsheet. If, when you open the spreadsheet, you get a warning that the spreadsheet contains macros which are disabled, you should set your security settings in Excel to "medium". Under medium security, Excel will warn you when you open a spreadsheet with a macro associated with it, and give you the choice of letting the macro run or not. To reset your Excel security setting, open Excel and click on the "Tools" menu, then click "Macro", and "Security" under the menu selections. In the Security dialog box, choose "Medium" under security settings.

When you next try to open the spreadsheet, Excel will tell you that the spreadsheet contains a macro, and gives you the choice of either enabling or disabling the macro. You may safely choose "Enable macro" when using this spreadsheet (if you feel really paranoid, feel free to scan the spreadsheet file with a good anti-virus program before opening it); all the macro in this spreadsheet does is perform the grade average to letter grade conversion, and it will not do your computer any damage.

If you do not have Excel on  your computer, you can open a plain copy of the grading form in your browser by following the hyperlink. Once the form opens in your browser, print out a copy and follow the instructions to calculate the student's grade (note that you will have to perform the actual calculations manually). Once you have completed the grade calculations, make a second copy of the grading form for your records.

If you have calculated grades using the spreadsheet or the manual form, please submit the hardcopy version to: Dr. Rex Brown, Director of Educational Experience Programs, UT College of Pharmacy, 847 Monroe Ave., Suite 208C, Memphis, TN 38163, or fax it to LaVerne Jones at (901) 448-1701.

8. What grade scale do we use to assign the mid-term or final grade?
If you have calculated your grade manually, use the following scales to convert the weighted grade average to a letter grade:

9. Email information for contacting people at the College:
Computer  and form "technical issues" :
College Webmaster:    Len Cleavelin   lcleavelin@utmem.edu, (901) 448-3403.
 
Educational Experience Program Office:
Ms. LaVerne Jones, lajones@utmem.edu (901) 448-1215
Dr. Rex Brown, Director of the Educational Experience Program,  rbrown@utmem.edu

Educator contacts,:
Dr. Stephanie Phelps, Assistant Dean for Education, sphelps@utmem.edu
Dr. Rich Helms, Chair, Department of Pharmacy, rhelms@utmem.edu