Evaluating Preceptors' Perceptions of Student Preparedness for Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe objective of this study was to evaluate preceptors' assessment of students' preparedness for advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPE) following a problem based learning (PBL) curriculum. A questionnaire instrument was administered anonymously in March 2004 and March 2005 to rate the adequacy of students' preparedness in the areas of knowledge acquisition, self-directed learning, and clinical reasoning. Preceptors reported optimal performance by students in researching reputable and pertinent primary literature (90%), incorporating primary literature into patient care decision making (73%), efficiently retrieving current medical information (94%), and evaluating drug regimen appropriateness based on the patient population (78%). Preceptors reported only average performance in identifying significant drug interactions (33%) and incorporation of knowledge from all academic disciplines (28%). Student performance in identification of drug assistance programs was reported to be less than optima...