Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning最新文献

Introduction: Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) have gained traction in competency-based education and training. This study explored pharmacy student, supervisor, and preceptor perceptions of EPAs as compared to existing assessment tools within a pharmacy program that uses a co-operative education (co-op) and clinical rotation model for experiential education.

Methods: University of Waterloo PharmD students and their co-op supervisors or rotation preceptors used an EPA-based assessment tool alongside existing evaluation methods during experiential placements. Surveys collected qualitative and quantitative data on the perceived strengths and limitations of EPA use. Two researchers independently coded qualitative feedback using content analysis to identify themes related to performance evaluation and job and practice readiness.

Results: Students appreciated the EPA tool's real-world relevance and emphasis on autonomy but raised concerns about its grading clarity and applicability, particularly in the co-op settings that involved less direct patient care. Supervisors and preceptors found the tool practical and focused on the independence element but noted the importance of being trained on its use and challenges with rating consistency. A hybrid model integrating EPAs with current tools was preferred by many participants to balance clinical task assessment with broader competency evaluation.

Discussion: EPAs were perceived as valuable in assessing student autonomy and readiness for unsupervised practice, especially during clinical rotations. However, alignment challenges with co-op responsibilities and evaluator variability may limit their standalone use. A combined assessment approach may offer a more comprehensive and context-sensitive evaluation of student performance during experiential training.

Introduction: The Pharmacists' Patient Care Process (PPCP), drug information (DI) and electronic health record (EHR) are Doctor of Pharmacy core skills requiring knowledge and application to reinforce learning. The objective of this prospective cohort study was to determine the evolution of student perceived competence in PPCP, DI, and EHR skills following redesign of a case conference course series. A spiral curricular framework, including the PPCP, DI, and EHR topics along with the existing pharmacotherapeutic content, was used.

Methods: Student pharmacists anonymously rated their perceived skills on 26 items on a 5-point scale (novice/beginner to expert) seven times throughout years 1-3. The survey was sent at the end of each semester starting in the P1 spring semester with two baseline surveys for the PCP and DI/EHR skills administered just prior to the introduction of these skills in the curriculum, midpoint of the P1 spring semester and at the beginning of the second professional year fall semester respectively.

Results: 189 students were eligible to participate with an overall response rate of 81.6% across seven survey points. A difference was found between the initial survey and each of the follow-up surveys beginning with follow-up 1 and maintained through follow-up 4 for all PPCP, DI, and EHR items.

Conclusion: A curriculum structure in which students are initially introduced to a set of skills and then allowed to practice those skills in a case-based setting over an extended period appears to be effective in initially increasing and then maintaining student perceived competency in PPCP, EHR, and DI skills.

Background: Faculty face challenges integrating professional development, such as curriculum vitae (CV) preparation, into curricula. For instance, adequate time and personnel may not be available for training and feedback. Faculty designed an artificial intelligence (AI)-facilitated activity to engage more students to update their CV and reflect on their community introductory pharmacy practice experience (CIPPE).

Educational activity: Second-year students in the Personal and Professional Development (PPD) course participated in an AI-facilitated interview with prompts designed to ask about key components of their CIPPE experience. The initial prompt asked interview questions with follow-up, and the final prompt drafted bullet points for the CIPPE section of their CV.

Evaluation findings: One hundred sixty-nine out of 200 students (84.5%) had a section with the CIPPE on their CV, and 123/169 (72.8%) had bullets points and/or a description of their experience included. These numbers are higher than the 2023 course with 157 out of 226 students (69.5%) listing the CIPPE on their CV (p < 0.001) and 79 out of 157 (50.3%) providing a description (p < 0.001). Of the 123 students in the 2024 course with bullet points and/or a description of their CIPPE, 49/123 (39.8%) matched the content generated by the AI interview.

Analysis of educational activity: This AI-facilitated approach provided students with the opportunity to build their self-awareness and led to more students providing detailed updates on their CVs. This innovation builds on previous literature that emphasizes leveraging AI in professional development but has not described this specific approach.