ABSTRACT
Assessment has become a major aspect of accreditation processes across all of higher education. As the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) plans a major revision to the standards for doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) education, an in-depth, scholarly review of the approaches and strategies for assessment in the PharmD program accreditation process is warranted. This paper provides 3 goals and 7 recommendations to strengthen assessment in accreditation standards. The goals include: (1) simplified standards with a focus on accountability and improvement, (2) institutionalization of assessment efforts; and (3) innovation in assessment. Evolving and shaping assessment practices is not the sole responsibility of the accreditation standards. Assessment requires commitment and dedication from individual faculty members, colleges and schools, and organizations supporting the college and schools, such as the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. Therefore, this paper also challenges the academy and its members to optimize assessment practices.
Subject(s)
Academies and Institutes/standards , Accreditation/standards , Education, Pharmacy, Graduate/standards , Educational Measurement/standards , Schools, Pharmacy/standards , Faculty/standards , HumansABSTRACT
This paper discusses the development of a multi-institutional community of practice that formed over 5 years. This community of practice was intentionally designed to support the evolution of student learning and programmatic assessment within member colleges and schools. Critical phases to the community's development are outlined, as well as its mission and goals. In addition, the community's contributions to faculty development and the scholarship of assessment are detailed. Success factors are discussed to assist others who may wish to initiate assessment-related collaborations across institutional borders. The community's vision for the future is also outlined.
Subject(s)
Community-Institutional Relations , Cooperative Behavior , Education, Pharmacy , Professional Practice , Program Development , Fellowships and Scholarships , HumansSubject(s)
Annual Reports as Topic , Biomedical Research/trends , Education, Pharmacy, Graduate/trends , Internationality , Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee/trends , Biomedical Research/standards , Education, Graduate/standards , Education, Graduate/trends , Education, Pharmacy/standards , Education, Pharmacy/trends , Education, Pharmacy, Graduate/standards , Humans , Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee/standardsABSTRACT
The objective was to identify exemplars in teaching pharmacy students awareness, knowledge, and the skills needed to provide care and services to the underserved. A call for exemplars was sent out in spring 2007. A subcommittee of the AACP Task Force on Caring for the Underserved reviewed all applications received. The 3 best exemplars for teaching pharmacy students the awareness, attitudes, knowledge, and skills needed to care for the underserved were selected and are described in this manuscript. Included are 1 didactic, 1 experiential, and 1 international experience. These exemplars in educating students on working with the underserved provide schools with models which could be adapted to fit individual programmatic curricular needs.
