Evaluating the Strengths and Barriers of Competency-Based Education in the Health Professions.

Objective: This study aimed to define competency-based education (CBE) for pharmacy education and describe how strengths and barriers of CBE can support or hinder implementation.

Findings: Sixty-five studies were included from a variety of health professions in order to define competency based pharmacy education (CBPE) and identify barriers and benefits from the learner, faculty, institution, and society perspectives. From the 7 identified thematic categories, a CBPE definition was developed: "Competency-based pharmacy education is an outcomes-based curricular model of an organized framework of competencies (knowledge, skills, attitudes) for pharmacists to meet health care and societal needs.

'R' you ready to save time? Using R to facilitate question creation in a pharmaceutical calculations course.

Background And Purpose: Pharmacists are expected to perform quick and accurate calculations throughout their careers. To achieve a proficient skill level, student pharmacists need ample and varied opportunities to practice pharmaceutical calculations. However, the creation of practice modalities can be time-consuming and labor-intensive for instructors.

A pilot study on the use of the nominal group technique to refine core pharmacy roles and to determine what competencies may be missing from pharmacy education.

Introduction: To describe the use of the nominal group technique (NGT) to refine pharmacy core roles and to compare these roles with current pharmacy outcomes and other literature to highlight potential deficiencies.

Methods: The NGT process was used for this proposal review. The process was conducted in four key stages: silent generation, round-robin, clarification, and voting.

Considerations for remediation policy and procedures in pharmacy education.

Introduction: Despite the heterogeneous nature of remediation definitions, processes, and impact on learning, it is commonly understood as a process for identifying student deficiencies in knowledge, skills, and attitudes that need to be corrected prior to student progression in the program.

Commentary: Current issues related to remediation in pharmacy education include inconsistencies in practices and types within and among institutions, a lack of correlation to student academic success, effects on attrition both positive (student staying on-time for graduation) and negative (students sitting back one year), increase in faculty workload, and negativity or stigma associated with the student.

Implications: Key considerations in developing and implementing remediation policies and procedures include being student-focused, providing a positive frame for remediation, implementing a clear process, and early identification of students who need help.

Nailed it! Doctor of pharmacy learners' self-awareness of performance on authentic assessments.

Introduction: The primary objective of this pilot study was to determine the reliability and validity of an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) self-awareness survey. A secondary objective was to assess learner self-awareness in OSCE performance.

Methods: A retrospective review of OSCE data from a single cohort in a three-year accelerated doctor of pharmacy program occurred.

Educational research and scholarship - Brainstorming, developing, and publishing together as teams.

Introduction: Collaborative educational research and scholarship is a powerful tool to help schools/colleges of pharmacy learn from and with each other to continuously improve by sharing best practices.

Commentary: There are significant advantages including developing projects with more generalizability and impact, leveraging different and complementary expertise, informal mentorship of junior faculty researchers, task sharing, and group accountability. There are also challenges such as managing multiple participants, sticking to productivity goals and timelines, and scheduling virtual meetings across multiple time zones.

Evaluating pharmacy faculty perceptions of empathy in education: A qualitative study.

Introduction: Empathy is critical in building teacher-student relationships. Little research is available evaluating the empathetic capacity of faculty who teach in healthcare professional programs. This study's objectives were to describe how faculty define empathy, describe faculty perspectives on the role of empathy in pharmacy education, and discuss the potential barriers to demonstrating empathy to students.

Perceptions of programs that orient non-practice faculty to the pharmacy profession: A pilot study.

Introduction: Faculty collaboration across disciplines plays an important role in pharmacy education, and in particular, the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) faculty survey asks whether colleges/schools of pharmacy (C/SOPs) have programs available to orient non-practice faculty to the profession of pharmacy. The purpose of this pilot study was to characterize perceptions of the importance and effectiveness of such programs, and to examine barriers to their successful implementation.

Methods: An online survey was developed to collect demographic information and perceived importance, effectiveness, and barriers of programs designed to orient non-practice faculty to the pharmacy profession.

Program evaluation of a pharmacy run resident teaching and learning curriculum.

Problem Description: The questions evaluated are: To what extent does the program meet the needs and expectations of the participants?; To what extent are the program outcomes being met?; In what ways does the program need to be modified to better meet the expectations and needs of the target audience?; In what ways does the program need to be modified to better fulfill its intended outcomes?; How accepting are the current residency programs of the modifications proposed for the 2018-2019 year?

Quality Improvement Methods: The new teaching and learning curriculum (TLC) program coordinator and Assistant Dean conducted a practical participatory evaluation. The plan was: complete initial data collection and review, create a new syllabus, and review new syllabus with all residency program directors.

Results Of Cqi Inquiry: All stakeholders felt the program was meeting their needs and expectations and the program was meeting its outcomes.

ARCS motivation model application in a pharmacy elective.

Background: Motivation is changeable but unpredictable. However, it is felt that many times, the instructor or instructional designer has no control over the ability to change it. John Keller developed the Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction (ARCS) model of motivation to try and solve these problems.

Predicting NAPLEX scores using student performance in the clinical skills laboratory setting.

Introduction: Many predictors of success on the North American Pharmacist Licensure Exam (NAPLEX) have been studied, but little information is available regarding the effect of assessments in the clinical skills setting on student success. One way to determine if these assessments affect NAPLEX success is to review student performance in clinical skills laboratory courses (termed patient care lab ["PCL"] at our institution), which incorporate such assessments.

Methods: Students (n = 88) enrolled in a four quarter PCL sequence completed several individual assessments (both knowledge and skills-based), including drug information (DI) quizzes/final exams, patient case presentations and associated critical thinking questions, and formal DI responses.

Factors associated with cultures of assessment at US schools and colleges of pharmacy.

Introduction: Pharmacy education has standards for assessment that must be met, prompting many programs to develop cultures of assessment. This study assesses the extent to which assessment personnel perceive that a culture of assessment has been established within their schools/colleges of pharmacy (S/COPs) and determines whether a relationship exists between assessment structure and the perceived strength of the culture of assessment.

Methods: An electronic survey was administered to assessment personnel at 134 S/COPs.

Surveying the current landscape of assessment structures and resources in US schools and colleges of pharmacy.

Introduction: Expectations for assessment in higher education have increased in recent decades, prompting institutions to invest additional resources in this area. This study aimed to determine the resources, structure, and perception of assessment resources in United States schools and colleges of pharmacy (S/COPs).

Methods: Assessment personnel in S/COPs were surveyed electronically.

Teaching students to become effective educators through an academic elective course.

Introduction: 2013 CAPE outcomes and 2016 ACPE accreditation standards state student graduates should be "able to educate all audiences by determining the most effective and enduring ways to impart information and assess learning".

Rationale And Objective: The purpose of this article is to describe the implementation of a professional elective that achieves this outcome and improves students' abilities to teach, communicate, and conduct peer and self-assessment. The Learn to Teach course is a 2-credit hour elective offered to second professional year pharmacy students over an 11-week quarter.