A Categorization Scheme for Assessing Pharmacy Students' Levels of Reflection During Internships

Abstract

Objective. To test the reliability, feasibility, and responsiveness of a categorization scheme for assessing pharmacy students' levels of reflection during internships. Methods. Pharmacy interns at Uppsala University were asked to write a reflective essay about patient counseling at the start and end of their internships. A modified version of Kember's categorization scheme for assessing the level of reflection was used to evaluate these essays.Results. Based on their essay scores, the students' levels of reflection increased during the internship course (p , 0.001) The mean time for categorization was 3 minutes per essay. The interrater reliability of the 182 essays was k 5 0.63. Conclusions. The evaluation of the categorization scheme showed that it has good interrater reliability, feasibility, and responsiveness. This scheme might be useful in pharmacy practice educational settings, but needs further validation.

Impact of Instruction and Feedback on Reflective Responses during an Ambulatory Care Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience

“…15 As time progressed throughout the study, the faculty members became more competent in providing direction to students and, since completion of the study, have individually provided such guidance to APPE students for reflection activities. The amount of time required to provide this feedback was relatively small, but the impact was impressive.…”

“…Similar to other examples of evaluation of reflection responses, typically less than five minutes per student was needed. 15 This type of intervention can readily be done by an individual with a vested interest in advancing students' reflective skills.…”

“…This categorization scheme was developed by Wallman et al specifically to assess pharmacy student reflections and was originally based on works of Kember and Mezirow. [15][16][17] It has good interrater reliability and responsiveness to detect change as a result of an intervention. 15 The scheme has six categories: (1) habitual action, (2) thoughtful action, (3) introspection, (4) content reflection, (5) process reflection, and (6) premise reflection.…”

“…[15][16][17] It has good interrater reliability and responsiveness to detect change as a result of an intervention. 15 The scheme has six categories: (1) habitual action, (2) thoughtful action, (3) introspection, (4) content reflection, (5) process reflection, and (6) premise reflection. Categories 1-3 are "nonreflective" and 4-6 are "reflective" ( Table 2).…”

“…Previous research demonstrated the feasibility of using assessment measures to rate the quality of pharmacy student reflections, but did not address methods to improve the students' reflective skills. 8,15 Thus, a paucity of data demonstrates educational methods successful in improving the reflective skills of pharmacy students when measured by validated assessment measures.…”