Evolution of a capstone exam for third-year doctor of pharmacy students

Ruble, Melissa J.; Serag-Bolos, Erini S.; Wantuch, Gwendolyn A.; Dell, Kamila A.; Cole, Jaclyn D.; Noble, Melissa; Miranda, Aimon; Schwartz, Amy Ellen

doi:10.1016/j.cptl.2023.06.009

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…OSCEs have become more commonly utilized in pharmacy programs as a way to assess students’ practice competencies and as a capstone exam at the end of P2 to assess students’ APPE-readiness [ 19 ]. Moreover, OSCEs have been aligned with pharmacy curricula [ 20 ], pharmacotherapeutics courses [ 21 ], program educational outcomes to assess APPE-readiness [ 19 ], and general pharmacy practice competencies such as critical thinking, patient care process and communication skills [ 22 – 23 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…From our perspective, the execution of OSCEs has been linked to various challenges concerning faculty involvement as observers or evaluators, particularly in connection with faculty workload and resource constraints. This underscores the importance of developing user-friendly grading rubrics and checklists, and discussing content alignment with course coordinators [ 19 ]. In this research, the elevated scores on communication-related statements across all 3 stations validate students’ proficiency in communication skills, achieved through purposeful and focused practice throughout the program.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Entrustable professional activities-based objective structured clinical examinations in a pharmacy curriculum

Nasser,

Kanbar,

Btaiche

et al. 2024

BMC Med Educ

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Background The integration of Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) within the professional pharmacy program, contributes to assessing the readiness of pharmacy students for Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences (APPEs) and real-world practice. Methods In a study conducted at an Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE)-accredited Doctor of Pharmacy professional degree program, 69 students in their second professional year (P2) were engaged in OSCEs. These comprised 3 stations: best possible medication history, patient education, and healthcare provider communication. These stations were aligned with Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) and Ability Statements (AS). The assessment aimed to evaluate pharmacy students’ competencies in key areas such as ethical and legal behaviors, general communication skills, and interprofessional collaboration. Results The formulation of the OSCE stations highlighted the importance of aligning the learning objectives of the different stations with EPAs and AS. The evaluation of students’ ethical and legal behaviors, the interprofessional general communication, and collaboration showed average scores of 82.6%, 88.3%, 89.3%, respectively. Student performance on communication-related statements exceeded 80% in all 3 stations. A significant difference (p < 0.0001) was found between the scores of the observer and the SP evaluator in stations 1 and 2 while comparable results (p = 0.426) were shown between the observer and the HCP evaluator in station 3. Additionally, a discrepancy among the observers’ assessments was detected across the 3 stations. The study shed light on challenges encountered during OSCEs implementation, including faculty involvement, resource constraints, and the necessity for consistent evaluation criteria. Conclusions This study highlights the importance of refining OSCEs to align with EPAs and AS, ensuring a reliable assessment of pharmacy students’ clinical competencies and their preparedness for professional practice. It emphasizes the ongoing efforts needed to enhance the structure, content, and delivery of OSCEs in pharmacy education. The findings serve as a catalyst for addressing identified challenges and advancing the effectiveness of OSCEs in accurately evaluating students’ clinical readiness.

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