Finding our Voice: Evaluation of Goal Setting Using the Habits of Preceptors Rubric in Terms of Focus, "SMARTness," and Impact.

INTRODUCTION: Effective leadership propels teams from effectiveness to greatness and is accomplished when everyone achieves and contributes their full potential, or "voice." The Clinician Educators Program Teaching and Learning Curriculum fosters preceptor development using the Habits of Preceptors Rubric (HOP-R) to guide participants in finding their precepting "voice." After the HOP-R self-assessment, participants select a habit of focus (HOF) and craft a SMART (specific/measurable/achievable/relevant/time-bound) goal. This report describes a pilot rubric, SMART-EP (emotional intelligence(EI)/professionalism), exploring goal "SMARTness" alongside change (impact) in participants' perceived precepting capabilities. METHODS: HOP-R self-ratings (2018-2020) and HOF/SMART goals (2019-2020) were retrospectively reviewed by two raters. Perceived preceptor capabilities were measured by analyzing the change in self-assessed habit level ratings between the first/fourth-quarter surveys. SMART goals were categorized by HOF and inclusion of SMART-EP components. Participants were guided in the inclusion of SMART, but not -EP, components. RESULTS: In aggregate, 120 participants completed HOP-R surveys (2018-2020). Within-subject changes across all 11 habits were significant (P < .001). For the SMART-EP rubric analysis (2019-2020), 71 participants had an average "SMARTness" score of 3.92 (of 5) with corresponding interrater reliability of 0.91. Goals included 2.77 (of 4) EI traits and 1.72 (of 3) professionalism components. DISCUSSION: The SMART-EP rubric provided insights into preceptor development opportunities among participants. Beyond SMART components, participants often included elements of EI and professionalism. Ratings confirm and support the consistency of the HOP-R as a tool to assess precepting habits.

Evaluating the impact of integrating SMART goal setting in preceptor development using the Habits of Preceptors Rubric.

PURPOSE: The impact of goal setting in pharmacy preceptor development was evaluated using the Habits of Preceptors Rubric (HOP-R), a criterion-referenced assessment developed to assess, quantify, and demonstrate growth across 11 preceptor habits. METHODS: This study retrospectively evaluated initial and follow-up survey responses from the 2019-2020 Clinician Educators Program cohort at Midwestern University College of Pharmacy, Glendale Campus. Enrollees in this teaching and learning curriculum (TLC) were invited to assess their precepting habits using the HOP-R after attending the first seminar and again toward the end of the longitudinal program. Using online surveys, participants rated their precepting capabilities as developing, proficient, accomplished, or master level for each habit. In the initial survey, each participant selected a habit of focus for deliberate development and established an individualized goal using the specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) framework. In the follow-up survey, participants indicated their satisfaction with and progress toward accomplishing their precepting goal. RESULTS: Initial survey results from 55 study participants identified developing as the most frequently self-reported habit level (53%; n = 605 ratings), while master was the least frequently reported (1%). In the follow-up assessment, accomplished (45%) was the most frequently self-reported habit level, while master (5%) remained the least reported. The cohort reported a median progress in SMART goal accomplishment of 69% (range, 12% to 100%; n = 54). CONCLUSION: Preceptor and resident pharmacists reported perceived advancement in precepting capabilities within the conceptual framework of the HOP-R encompassing both their self-selected habit of focus and adjacent habits while enrolled in a TLC. SMART goals facilitated qualitative and quantitative assessment of development.

Evaluating the impact of a "grand rounds" elective course on students' perceived motivations, comfort, and confidence in providing constructive and reinforcing feedback to guest lecturers.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Providing feedback is an important skill for all healthcare professionals both within and outside of their discipline. Although student pharmacists frequently receive feedback during both didactic and experiential education, training on how to provide feedback to others is less common. EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY AND SETTING: An elective was designed to expose second-year pharmacy students to "grand rounds" with practicing pharmacists as the presenters. Students provided feedback to presenters on presentation style and assessment questions. The primary objective of this research project was to determine if the elective improved students' motivations, comfort, and confidence in providing constructive written feedback. FINDINGS: Over two course offerings, 54% (19 of 35) of enrolled students completed both the pre- and post-surveys. At baseline, the majority of students self-identified as being motivated, comfortable, and confident with providing quality written feedback with the exception of two specific areas: motivation to provide quality written feedback and comfort with providing difficult or sensitive written feedback. At the end of the course, the majority of students self-identified as being motivated, comfortable, and confident across all areas queried. All students agreed or strongly agreed that the efficiency and quality of their written feedback improved during the course. SUMMARY: The course offered several benefits to students, including learning clinical topics from a variety of presenters and developing feedback skills. The implementation of the grand rounds elective provided students an opportunity to develop their motivation, comfort, and confidence with providing quality constructive written feedback.

Interprofessional objective structured clinical examination with physician assistant and pharmacy students - A qualitative and quantitative study.

BACKGROUND: To assess the impact of an interprofessional objective structured clinical examination (iOSCE) on attitudes/perceptions regarding interprofessional practice (IPP) and to determine if patient (simulated) outcomes improved with interprofessional collaboration (pharmacy and physician assistant (PA) students). INTERPROFESSIONAL EDUCATION ACTIVITY: A team of interprofessional faculty designed an iOSCE case and grading checklist containing key interventions. Students individually reviewed the case and were asked to document potential changes to the admission orders. Then they were given the opportunity to collaborate in an interprofessional team to discuss the case and orders. Finally, the team presented their recommendations to an interprofessional faculty panel. Individual and team scores were compared to determine the impact of interprofessional collaboration. The Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) questionnaire was administered pre- and post-iOSCE to assess changes in opinions about interprofessional learning. DISCUSSION: Individual and team iOSCE scores for 187 students were evaluated (86 PA and 101 pharmacy). A 21% absolute increase in the number of key interventions was found when comparing average individual scores to average team scores (2.11/5 vs. 3.18/5, p < 0.001). While in aggregate the students had a positive attitude towards IPE pre-iOSCE, RIPLS responses were strengthened post-iOSCE. IMPLICATIONS: Through iOSCEs, it appears students can learn from and with one another to improve patient care and gain perspective on the roles/skills of interprofessional colleagues.

Evaluation of a peer- and self-grading process for clinical writing assignments.

OBJECTIVES: As class sizes in pharmacy education increase, faculty must develop new assessment strategies for essay writing assignments. This study evaluated accuracy and student perceptions of an innovative grading process that utilizes both peer- and self-assessment. METHODS: Four SOAP note sessions were evaluated. Each session included four activities: a writing workshop, assessment workshop, and reflection session. For each assessment workshop students scored their note and a blinded peer's note using a grading form, facilitated by a faculty-led discussion. In a subsequent reflection session, students reviewed their peer- and self-assigned grades and could petition for faculty review if desired. The average self-, peer-, and final-grades were compared for each of the four SOAP note sessions using ANOVA. After the fourth session, students completed an anonymous 10-question Likert-scale survey regarding their perceptions of the process and three open-response questions. Survey results were analyzed with descriptive statistics. RESULTS: Approximately 140 students participated. No difference was found between the average self-, peer-, and final-grades for all four sessions (p > 0.05). The survey response rate was 65% (91/140). Survey questions were grouped into three themes. The majority of students either strongly agreed or agreed that sessions were well organized and effective (≥84%), assessment workshops enhanced learning (≥68%), and the scoring method was fair (≥72%). The lowest score (mean 2.53 on a 4-point scale) reflected satisfaction with peer-provided feedback. When asked what they liked most, respondents most commonly cited that faculty-led review and discussion enhanced clinical knowledge. IMPLICATIONS: The combination of a peer- and self-assessment process was accurate, well-received, and can be used to decrease faculty workload.

Development of a tool to assess and advance the effectiveness of preceptors: The Habits of Preceptors Rubric.

PURPOSE: Present the research performed to identify and describe habits of effective pharmacy preceptors and provide a framework for targeted preceptor assessment and development. METHODS: A 5-round Delphi consensus-building process was used to refine the initial Habits of Preceptors Rubric (HOP-R) developed by the research team. Twenty experts in pharmacy experiential education participated. During the Delphi process, feedback and agreement on all parts of the HOP-R were sought, including the premise, introductory content, framework, preceptor domains, habits, habit level descriptions, and continuous professional development (CPD) plan. After each Delphi round, the research team grouped responses into themes and modified the draft rubric accordingly. These themes were used to frame the response document sent to the expert panel for the following Delphi round; this document explained modifications made to the HOP-R. Consensus was defined as a mean score of ≥3.25 on a 4-point scale (4 = strongly agree, 1 = strongly disagree) for posed statements or ≥70% agreement for ranked items. RESULTS: In the final Delphi round (response rate, 95%), consensus was achieved for all HOP-R individual structural and content elements except the habit level descriptors, for which a secondary rank order analysis was performed. The final HOP-R has 3 domains encompassing 11 preceptor habits that can be displayed across 4 habit levels progressing from developing to master. CONCLUSION: The HOP-R was developed to assess, quantify, and demonstrate growth across a wide variety of pharmacy preceptor habits. Potential utility includes use as a framework to articulate the knowledge, skills, and behaviors of effective preceptors, facilitate the creation of individualized CPD plans, and assess the impact of participation in teaching and learning curricula.

A Pilot Study on an Interprofessional Course Involving Pharmacy and Dental Students in a Dental Clinic.

Objective. To assess the effect of a dental clinical rotation program involving pharmacy students and dental students. Methods. An interprofessional education (IPE) course was offered as an elective to second-year pharmacy students and required for third-year dental students. The course included two in-class sessions, one online lecture, and five clinic sessions. Program evaluation analyses included a comparison of participating versus nonparticipating students on a knowledge survey of pharmacotherapy and IPE, and a descriptive analysis of IPE course evaluation results. Results. Among pharmacy students, mean scores were significantly higher for participants than nonparticipants on the 31-item pharmacy knowledge component of the survey. On the eight-item IPE component of the survey, scores were significantly higher for participants than for nonparticipants, both among pharmacy students and among dental students. Awareness and attitudes about IPE were generally high among course participants. Conclusion. An IPE course that integrates second-year pharmacy students with third-year dental students in the dental clinic to provide medication history, education, and identification of potential drug-related problems improved pharmacy students' knowledge of pharmacotherapy related to or associated with dental conditions and improved pharmacy and dental students' knowledge and attitudes about IPE.

Assessment of a Revised Method for Evaluating Peer-graded Assignments in a Skills-based Course Sequence.

OBJECTIVE. To evaluate the modified peer-grading process incorporated into the SOAP (subjective, objective, assessment, plan) note sessions in a skills-based pharmacy course sequence. DESIGN. Students assessed a de-identified peer's SOAP note in a faculty-led peer-grading session followed by an optional grade challenge opportunity. Using paired t tests, final session grades (peer-graded with challenge opportunity) were compared with the retrospective faculty-assigned grades. Additionally, students responded to a survey using 4-point Likert scale and open-answer items to assess their perceptions of the process. ASSESSMENT. No significant difference was found between mean scores assigned by faculty members vs those made by student peers after participation in 3 SOAP note sessions, which included a SOAP note-writing workshop, a peer-grading workshop, and a grade challenge opportunity. The survey data indicated that students generally were satisfied with the process. CONCLUSION. This study provides insight into the peer-grading process used to evaluate SOAP notes. The findings support the continued use of this assessment format in a skills-based course.

High-fidelity simulation for advanced cardiac life support training.

OBJECTIVE. To determine whether a high-fidelity simulation technique compared with lecture would produce greater improvement in advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) knowledge, confidence, and overall satisfaction with the training method. DESIGN. This sequential, parallel-group, crossover trial randomized students into 2 groups distinguished by the sequence of teaching technique delivered for ACLS instruction (ie, classroom lecture vs high-fidelity simulation exercise). ASSESSMENT. Test scores on a written examination administered at baseline and after each teaching technique improved significantly from baseline in all groups but were highest when lecture was followed by simulation. Simulation was associated with a greater degree of overall student satisfaction compared with lecture. Participation in a simulation exercise did not improve pharmacy students' knowledge of ACLS more than attending a lecture, but it was associated with improved student confidence in skills and satisfaction with learning and application. CONCLUSIONS. College curricula should incorporate simulation to complement but not replace lecture for ACLS education.