Presentation Description
Hayley Croft1
Josephine Maundu2, Kirstie Galbraith3, Balakrishnan R (Kichu) Nair AM1, Glenys Wilkinson2 and Bronwyn Clark2
1 University of Newcastle
2 Australian Pharmacy Council
3 Monash University
Josephine Maundu2, Kirstie Galbraith3, Balakrishnan R (Kichu) Nair AM1, Glenys Wilkinson2 and Bronwyn Clark2
1 University of Newcastle
2 Australian Pharmacy Council
3 Monash University
Background
In Australia, pharmacy graduates must complete a period of supervised practice (internship) as part of the requirements for registration. New workplace-based assessment (WBA) tools have been developed and introduced by the Australian Pharmacy Council (APC) to facilitate effective assessment of pharmacy interns. The tools include entrustable professional activities (EPAs), case-based discussion, and in-training assessments on health promotion and reflective practice(1).
In Australia, pharmacy graduates must complete a period of supervised practice (internship) as part of the requirements for registration. New workplace-based assessment (WBA) tools have been developed and introduced by the Australian Pharmacy Council (APC) to facilitate effective assessment of pharmacy interns. The tools include entrustable professional activities (EPAs), case-based discussion, and in-training assessments on health promotion and reflective practice(1).
Summary of Work
APC is conducting an evaluation study to gather experiences from stakeholders through focus group, interviews, and an anonymous cross-sectional survey. We seek to gather feedback on the content, structure, format and understandability of the tools and supporting material; and perspectives on the impact of the tools on intern learning, intern/preceptor relationships and workload.
Results
Five focus groups were conducted in May 2023 with Interns (n=11) and pharmacists (n=13). Feedback indicates that the WBA tools are beneficial in supporting workplace learning and feedback, enhance communication between preceptors and interns and optimise role allocation for interns. Increased workload, lack of time and poor WBA literacy are the key challenges expressed by both interns and pharmacists. Preliminary findings from other components of the study will be shared.
Discussion
Competency based assessment approaches are increasingly being implemented in pharmacy education(2) and involve the use of WBA tools(3). Though not without its challenges competency-based assessment and the associated use of WBA is a valuable addition to pharmacy intern training.
Conclusions
The introduction of WBA is providing a nationally consistent approach for Australian pharmacy intern training. Findings from the evaluation will inform improvements to the current tools and future expansion of WBA.
Take home messages:
Our experiences on introducing a WBA for pharmacy intern training at a national level involving multiple sites in diverse settings can inform local and international health programs seeking to introduce WBA.
References (maximum three)
- Maundu J, Galbraith K, Croft H, Clark B, Kirsa S, Wilkinson G, Abeyaratne C. Development of workplace-based assessment tools to support postgraduate training of provisionally registered pharmacists in Australia. JACPP April 2023; Vol 6(4) :370- 376.
- Croft H, Gilligan C, Rasiah R, Levett-Jones T, Schneider J. Current Trends and Opportunities for Competency Assessment in Pharmacy Education-A Literature Review. Pharmacy (Basel). 2019 Jun 18;7(2):67. doi: 10.3390/pharmacy7020067.
- Lim A, Arora G, McInerney B, Vienet M, Stewart K, Galbraith K. Evaluation of a new educational workplace-based program for provisionally registered pharmacists in Australia. Curr Pharm Teach Learn. 2020 Dec;12(12):1410-1416. doi: 10.1016/j.cptl.2020.07.008. Epub 2020 Aug 7. PMID: 33092770.