The Development of a Novel Interprofessional Education Curriculum for third year medical and pharmacy students

Abstract

The Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) is the national agency for the accreditation of professional degree programs in pharmacy and providers of continuing pharmacy education. ACPE (until 2003 known as the American Council on Pharmaceutical Education) was established in 1932 for the accreditation of professional degree programs in pharmacy, and in 1975 its scope was broadened to include accreditation of providers of continuing pharmacy education (www.acpe-accredit.org). ACPE expanded its activities to include evaluation and certification of professional degree programs internationally in 2011 and entered into a collaboration with the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) to accredit pharmacy technician education and training programs beginning in 2014. The mission of ACPE is to assure and advance quality in pharmacy education. ACPE is an autonomous and independent agency whose Board of Directors is appointed by the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP), the American Pharmacists Association (APhA), the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) (three appointments each), and the American Council on Education (ACE) (one appointment). Since the inception of its accreditation agency recognition program in 1952, the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) has continuously recognized ACPE. ACPE also gained recognition by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) in April 2004. State boards of pharmacy require that licensure applicants from the United States have graduated from an accredited pharmacy degree program to be eligible to sit for the North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination TM (NAPLEX®). Importance of Standards To achieve and maintain ACPE accreditation, professional Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) degree programs (hereafter described as 'programs') must meet the standards contained in this document. ACPE standards are minimum requirements, and it is expected that programs will exceed these required standards through initiatives designed to ensure continuous quality improvement. These standards describe the various elements needed for quality-assured professional education and are based on evidence and experience. They articulate expectations that ACPE (as well as pharmacy practice and the pharmacy academy) has of academic institutions offering the PharmD degree. ACPE standards also reflect the expectations that the U.S. Department of Education and state boards of pharmacy have of the colleges and schools, and of ACPE, regarding the quality of professional degree programs. These standards have been developed with input from a broad range of constituents interested in and affected by pharmacy education. They focus on the educational outcomes required of PharmD programs and the assessment of those outcomes. They also address the structural and process-related elements within pharmacy education necessary to implement evidencebased outcome measures that document achievement of the standards. In addition, these standards describe areas where programs ...