A Roadmap for Educational Research in Pharmacy

Self Cite

Objective. To examine the relationship between admissions, objective structured clinical examination (OSCE), and advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) scores. Methods. Admissions, OSCE, and APPE scores were collected for students who graduated from the doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) program in spring of 2012 and spring of 2013 (n5289). Pearson correlation was used to examine relationships between variables, and independent t test was used to compare mean scores between groups. Results. All relationships among admissions data (undergraduate grade point average, composite PCAT scores, and interview scores) and OSCE and APPE scores were weak, with the strongest association found between the final OSCE and ambulatory care APPEs. Students with low scores on the final OSCE performed lower than others on the acute care, ambulatory care, and community APPEs. Conclusion. This study highlights the complexities of assessing student development of noncognitive professional skills over the course of a curriculum.

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Limited Predictive Utility of Admissions Scores and Objective Structured Clinical Examinations for APPE Performance

McLaughlin

Khanova

Scolaro

et al. 2015

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“…Moreover, McLaughlin et al noted that in qualitative educational research in pharmacy, the participants are selected for "specific characteristics of interest," and that generalization is not the responsibility of the researcher. 42 In this study, we supplemented document analysis with listening to students describe the thinking processes they used when responding to assessment tasks. Listening to students helped us categorize the cognitive levels.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Alignment of Learning Objectives and Assessments in Therapeutics Courses to Foster Higher-Order Thinking

FitzPatrick

Hawboldt

Doyle

et al. 2015

Objective. To determine whether national educational outcomes, course objectives, and classroom assessments for 2 therapeutics courses were aligned for curricular content and cognitive processes, and if they included higher-order thinking. Method. Document analysis and student focus groups were used. Outcomes, objectives, and assessment tasks were matched for specific therapeutics content and cognitive processes. Anderson and Krathwohl's Taxonomy was used to define higher-order thinking. Students discussed whether assessments tested objectives and described their thinking when responding to assessments. Results. There were 7 outcomes, 31 objectives, and 412 assessment tasks. The alignment for content and cognitive processes was not satisfactory. Twelve students participated in the focus groups. Students thought more short-answer questions than multiple choice questions matched the objectives for content and required higher-order thinking. Conclusion. The alignment analysis provided data that could be used to reveal and strengthen the enacted curriculum and improve student learning.

“…[14][15][16][17] A general inductive approach in our analytic strategies and interpretations was utilized. 18 Three faculty investigators read through the transcript printouts independently, line-by-line to identify, arrange, and systematize the ideas, concepts, and categories found in the transcripts.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing Students’ Impressions of the Cultural Awareness of Pharmacy Faculty and Students

Popovich

Okorie-Awé

Crawford

et al. 2018

Objective. To determine pharmacy students' impressions of their faculty's interactions with diverse student and patient populations. Methods. Three student focus groups were convened. Eighty-four page transcripts were coded, and emergent themes were identified by qualitative analysis. Results. Students defined diversity as multidimensional beyond traditional categories. Emergent themes were faculty awareness or lack of awareness of cultural diversity, disparate cultural perspectives and preferences within student groups, teaching/learning approaches to prepare students to be more culturally competent, and student group dynamics. First-and second-year students emphasized student-to-student interactions, while third-and fourth-year students emphasized a lack of preparation for the realities of contemporary practice based on instructional methods. Conclusion. Students perceived the majority of their pharmacy faculty to be culturally sensitive and aware, but microaggression and discrimination from faculty and student peers were experienced. Study implications can potentially improve curricular offerings, cultural awareness of faculty and students, and care to diverse patient populations.