Appraisal of the entrustable professional activities interprofessional team member domain performed by North Dakota pharmacists

Abstract

Objective: To quantify the use of the interprofessional team member (ITM) domain of entrustable professional activities (EPAs) by North Dakota pharmacists across practice sites, roles in practice, and by preceptor status.
 Methods: Survey methods were used to characterize the self-reported frequency with which pharmacists undertake core EPAs and supporting tasks in the ITM domain. The survey was administered to registered pharmacists practicing in North Dakota (n=990) during the fall of 2018, of which 457 (46.1%) responded. After eliminating responses with incomplete or missing information, 119 responses were available for analysis.
 Results: For the overall EPA ITM domain, “Collaborate as a member of an interprofessional team population” pharmacists reported performing these activities an average (mean) of 3.3 times per month (SD=2.3). Within this domain, the highest reported example activity was “Use setting appropriate communication skills when interacting with others” (mean=4.1, SD 1.8), followed by “Communicate a patient’s medication-related problem(s) to another health professional” (mean=3.3, SD 2.0), and “Contribute medication-related expertise to the team’s work” (mean=3.1, SD=2.2). ITM domain and supporting example activities were performed at a greater rate in hospitals, community health centers and long-term-care facilities. For most items, preceptors reported a greater use of activities, than did non-preceptors.
 Conclusions: North Dakota pharmacists currently complete tasks outlined in the ITM domain of the EPAs, although their contributions are varied by task, role, and preceptor status.

Evaluating the Quality of the Core Entrustable Professional Activities for New Pharmacy Graduates

“…This study highlighted the need for EPA quality evaluation before incorporating them into curricula [19]. The AACP's Core EPAs' pertinence and applicability to pharmacy practice has been established [13][14][15][16]. Haines and colleagues demonstrated the relevance of the Core EPAs using a questionnaire.…”

“…The Core EPAs have been integrated into pharmacy education nationwide within didactic and experiential curricula [ 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 ]. Despite having been previously critically appraised for their relevance to the profession [ 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ], their quality and structure have not been objectively evaluated to ensure they meet specific characteristics related to EPA quality.…”

“…The AACP’s Core EPAs’ pertinence and applicability to pharmacy practice has been established [ 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ]. Haines and colleagues demonstrated the relevance of the Core EPAs using a questionnaire.…”