Descriptive survey of pharmacy students’ self-evaluation of Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences (APPE) and practice readiness using entrustable professional activities

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate pharmacy students’ self-identified levels of entrustability before and after their advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPE). Methods: Third and fourth-year pharmacy students completed a Qualtrics survey where they were asked to self-identify their entrustability level (scale of I–V) on each of the fifteen core entrustable professional activities (EPAs) for pharmacy graduates. Results: A total of 249 third-year students completed the APPE-readiness survey in the Fall of 2017–2019, and 106 fourth-year students completed the practice-readiness survey in the Spring of 2018. The highest entrustability level in both surveys was “create a written plan for continuous professional development”. The lowest reported entrustability levels in both surveys were: “Oversee the pharmacy operations…”, “Maximise the appropriate use of medications…,” and “Establish patient-centred goals and create a plan…”. The largest area of change from pre-APPE to post-APPE was overseeing pharmacy operations, with an increase of 26%. The average pre-APPE entrustment level was 3.72, increasing to 4.2 in the practice readiness portion. The percentage of students self-reporting below an entrustment level of 3 in the practice-readiness survey ranged from 0–0.99%. Conclusion: Pharmacy students increased their self-reported level of entrustability over all 15 EPA domains from pre-APPE to post-APPE year.