Health Sciences Education Symposium
Presentation Format
Poster
Type of Activity
Innovation
Original Presentation Date
2023
Date of Submission
March 2023
Abstract/Short Description
Purpose/Background: The assessment of professionalism is a challenging and evolving field. The pharmacy education literature describes approaches to assessing professionalism over time; however, an integrated professionalism course series spanning the duration of the program has not been described.1,2 Co-curricular experiences present an opportunity for students to apply content learned in the classroom to real-world experiences where professionalism is expected. These activities include leadership positions, career seminars and health outreach events. Previously described processes for tracking the co-curricular activities differ in the accuracy of data collected and the connection to a professional development course.3,4 The purpose of this educational project is to describe the impact of an innovative continuous professional development (CPD) course series incorporating co-curricular requirements on the professional growth of student pharmacists.
Description of Innovative Practice: The VCU School of Pharmacy (SoP) implemented a required pass/fail CPD four-year course series for Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) students in Fall 2018. A pass/fail design is used to promote low-stakes engagement in the courses. The main objectives of the courses are to promote a growth mindset both professionally and personally and instill the values and attributes needed for providing patient care. Each course has its own areas of focus related to professional development around which content is developed and assessments are built. Across all four courses, students develop relationships with mentors, participate in SMART goal setting, update professional documents, track co-curricular participation, and complete reflective exercises.
Results: In 2022, the first cohort to complete all four CPD courses graduated (n=117). Faculty from the Department of Pharmacotherapy and Outcomes Science serve as course instructors and are assigned 4-12 mentees per year. The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy distributes surveys annually to graduating PharmD students and experiential rotation preceptors. A 4-point Likert-type scale is used to capture various aspects of the student and preceptor experience. Annual graduating student experience survey responses from the class of 2022 (n=93 of 117 invited [79.5% response rate]) were compared to those from the class of 2018 (n=108 of 129 invited [83.7% response rate]). From 2018 to 2022, there was an increase in the proportion of students who “strongly agreed” with the statement “The PharmD Program prepared me to examine and reflect on how my behavior and choices affect my personal and professional development and growth” (38% [n=41] in 2018 vs. 58.1% [n=54] in 2022). A similar increase was seen in the proportion of students who “strongly agreed” with the statement “I developed the skills needed to prepare me for continuous professional development and self-directed life-long learning”(47.2% [n=51] in 2018 vs. 60.2% [n=56] in 2022). Results of the annual preceptor survey (n=150 responses of 433 invited [34.6% response rate]), found the proportion of preceptors who “strongly agreed” with the statement “The PharmD program prepares students to examine and reflect on how their behavior and choices affect their personal and professional growth” increased from 34.9% (n=106) in 2018 to 44.7% (n=67) in 2022.
Conclusion: Annual experience survey responses from students and preceptors indicate an increase in the perception of student professionalism after the CPD course series was implemented. Additional evaluation of the course series is ongoing. A review of the 3-year data of a validated professionalism assessment tool (PharmPPD) will be conducted after completion of the Spring 2023 semester. Assessment of several aspects of the course series is planned, including tracking effort spent by assigned faculty mentors, quality of mentorship, and accountability of course requirements.
References
1. Poirier TI, Gupchup GV. Assessment of pharmacy student professionalism across a curriculum. Am J Pharm Educ. 2010;74(4):62. doi:10.5688/aj740462
2. Eukel H, Frenzel J, Skoy E, Faure M. Longitudinal evaluation of student professionalism throughout the professional didactic curriculum of a pharmacy program. Curr Pharm Teach Learn. 2018;10(3):325-332. doi:10.1016/j.cptl.2017.11.011
3. American Council for Pharmacy Education. Accreditation standards and key elements for the professional program in pharmacy leading to the doctor of pharmacy degree. 2015. https://www.acpe-accredit.org. Accessed March 15, 2023.
Rights
© The Author(s)
Is Part Of
VCU Medical Education Symposium
First Author Information
Nicole E. Omecene, PharmD, BCPPS, Department of Pharmacotherapy and Outcomes Science, VCU School of Pharmacy