Abstract
The response to COVID-19 created a need to evaluate options and develop innovative solutions to assure students progressed towards graduation. Creating both a Community Pharmacy APPE Test-Out Option and a Virtual Community Pharmacy APPE was a positive experience which provided a vital resource for students who were unable to complete the traditional Community Pharmacy APPE due to the pandemic. This solution provided a unique opportunity to utilize the combined expertise of faculty to tailor the Community Pharmacy APPE based on the individual student’s previous experience and educational needs and meet both ACPE and graduation requirements. Further development of this option could prove useful as we move forward in these unprecedented times.
Highlights
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted numerous communities, disrupting the home and work environments of millions of individuals across the United States, including students enrolled in colleges and universities
Students who were scheduled for a community rotation were eligible to test-out of their Community Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences (APPEs) if they met the following requirements: 1) had significant work experience-defined by the college as working at least 500 hours in a community pharmacy while enrolled as a pharmacy student, and 2) had already met the curriculum requirements of 1,680 hours of APPE experience (Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education Self-Assessment Instrument for the Professional Degree Program of Colleges and Schools of Pharmacy, 2016)
One student enrolled in the virtual APPE and three students applied for the test-out option
Summary
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted numerous communities, disrupting the home and work environments of millions of individuals across the United States, including students enrolled in colleges and universities. College curriculums across the nation were forced to transition to completely online instruction within a very short time frame for all didactic learning experiences, and many in the experiential settings in order to reduce the risk of transmission, ensure student safety and preserve resources (Fuller et al, 2020). The current curriculum at the University of Florida College of Pharmacy requires 1,680 hours of APPEs with each APPE scheduled for a total of 240 hours. This allowed for the formation of a test-out option for the Community APPE where students who had already met certain requirements, such as community pharmacy experience and completion of the required number of hours through other APPE rotations for graduation. With many APPE sites unable to bring students into their practice setting due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some
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