A Six-Semester Integrated Pharmacy Practice Course Based on Entrustable Professional Activities

The impact of critical thinking skills on student pharmacist GPA at a historically Black university

INTRODUCTION

Limited information is available regarding whether malleable factors such as critical thinking skills are associated with academic performance among underrepresented minority pharmacy students. This study assessed the relationship between critical thinking skills and grade point average (GPA) among pharmacy students attending a Historically Black College.

METHODS

A cross sectional study design was utilized to evaluate the association between student's GPA and critical thinking skills. Demographic data and GPA were abstracted from student records. The health sciences reasoning test with numeracy was administered to pharmacy students at Howard University during the 2017 to 2018 academic year. Critical thinking scores were classified as weak, moderate, or strong/superior. A one way analysis of variance was conducted to ascertain if the average GPA differed based on critical thinking skills category. A multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to determine whether student's critical thinking skill category was associated with the cumulative GPA after accounting for other factors.

RESULTS

Among 217 students, the mean GPA among students with a weak critical thinking skills score (3.22 ± 0.40) was lower compared to students with a strong/superior score (3.39 ± 0.33) with a p-value of 0.029. After adjusting for other factors, a strong/superior critical thinking skills score was associated with a higher GPA (p-value = 0.024) in comparison to weak critical thinking skills.

CONCLUSION

Stronger critical thinking skills scores are associated with better academic performance among underrepresented minority pharmacy students.

A consortium's approach to developing an EPA-based community IPPE curriculum

INTRODUCTION

Currently, there are limited data on the use of entrustable professional activities (EPAs) within introductory pharmacy practice experiences (IPPEs). The objective of this study was to identify supporting EPA tasks community IPPE students should perform at the "Competent with Support" level to prepare them for advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs).

METHODS

The Southeastern Pharmacy Experiential Education Consortium utilized a modified Delphi process to incorporate EPAs into community IPPE curricula to mirror the consortium's community APPE curricula. Community IPPE and APPE preceptors (N = 140) were invited to participate in focus groups and two surveys to identify and build consensus on EPA-based activities community IPPE students should perform to prepare them for APPEs. The primary outcome was development of an EPA-based community IPPE curriculum.

RESULTS

Nine preceptors (6.43%) participated in a focus group, 34 preceptors completed survey one (24.29%), and 20 preceptors completed survey two (14.29%). The initial list of 62 tasks for 14 EPAs was tailored to reflect an IPPE student skill set. Survey consensus led to a community IPPE curricula with 12 required EPAs and 54 tasks (40 required and 14 suggested).

CONCLUSIONS

The modified Delphi process provided a mechanism for preceptor collaboration with experiential programs to build consensus on community IPPE curricula redesigned around EPAs and supporting tasks. A unified IPPE curriculum adds value to colleges and schools of pharmacy with shared preceptors by improving continuity of experience, expectations, and evaluation of student learners and allows for targeted regional preceptor development.