Learning Materials

Title: ACT F.A.S.T.-Situational Worksheet

Tools Used: Canva

Time: 5 hours

Client: Pharmacy department within a local community

Challenges: Patients with stroke have a small window of time (approximately 30 minutes) to be treated adequately once they step foot into the emergency department. Patients who are misdiagnosed can suffer severe brain damage or even sudden death if practitioners do not recognize the signs and symptoms of stroke within the first 5-10 minutes of patient arrival. 55% of pharmacy residents needed additional guidance to ensure that the emergency department meets its stroke metrics for patient treatment within thirty minutes of patient arrival.

Solutions: This worksheet exercise allows the pharmacy director and pharmacist preceptors to know how each pharmacy resident responds to patients with signs and symptoms stroke in an emergency room simulation. This exercise also gives the pharmacy residents the chance to work through patient presentations in writing with time to consider their responses if this was a real world situation.

Results: This worksheet has helped pharmacy residents develop a a step by step approach to recognizing stroke symptoms by analyzing the patient's facial appearance, arm strength and speech changes. This exercise improved the hospital's stroke metrics by 30%.