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Objective. To design and implement a longitudinal course series focused on professional development and professional identity formation in pharmacy students at Western New England University. Methods. A four-year, theme-based course series was designed to sequentially and longitudinally impart the values, attributes, and characteristics of a professional pharmacist. Requirements of the course include: goal planning and reflective assignments, submission of "Best Works," attendance at professional meetings, completion of service hours, annual completion of a Pharmacy Professionalism Instrument, attendance at Dean's Seminar, participation in roundtable discussions, and maintenance of an electronic portfolio. Though the Professional Development course series carries no credit, these courses are progression requirements and students are assessed on a pass/fail basis.Results. Course pass rates in the 2015-2016 academic year for all four classes were 99% to 100%, suggesting the majority of students take professional development seriously and are achieving the intended outcomes of the courses. Conclusion. A professional development course series was designed and implemented in the new Doctor of Pharmacy program at Western New England University to enhance the professional identity formation of students.

Objectives. To describe the implementation of a high-stakes rubric to assess student professionalism in introductory and advanced pharmacy practice experiences (IPPEs and APPEs) to promote the professional socialization of students in the doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) program at Western New England University (WNE). Findings. A professionalism rubric was adapted from the literature to assess the professional behavior of students enrolled in experiential courses based on evaluation of the following criteria: appropriate communication skills with patients and providers, appearance and dress code, timeliness, and initiative. The rubric was implemented in the fall semester of 2013 as a high-stakes component of the assessment within all experiential courses. Students were required to meet expectations for each of the four criteria in order to pass the practice experience, independent of their performance in other course components. Students were assessed by their preceptors at the midpoint and end of each practice experience using the appropriate evaluation tool. Each of the IPPE and APPE evaluation tools included the professionalism rubric as a requirement for assessment. Use of the Professionalism Rubric as a high-stakes assessment tool highlighted professionalism as an important component of the program, making expectations explicit to students and providing leverage to preceptors for holding students accountable. Summary. The Office of Experiential Affairs at WNE has raised awareness of the importance of professionalism and promoted the professional socialization of PharmD students with the use of a highstakes professionalism rubric.

Objective. To initiate mapping of the curriculum to the core competencies of our program and to develop a novel and visually accessible method for communicating data to all stakeholders.Design. An online survey was developed to gauge the extent to which instructors and students perceive that courses within the curriculum and assess students' ability to achieve each of the 10 core competencies. Response data were collected and processed as radar plots in Microsoft Excel. Assessment. Response rate for faculty members was 100% and 86%for students. Radar plots provided images of the relative extent to which each course surveyed was perceived to contribute to core competencies. Conclusion. Using radar plots to present perception data is visually descriptive, makes patterns/trends readily apparent, and facilitates the development of an ongoing culture of assessment.

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