A Modified Delphi Process to Achieve Consensus on Social/Administrative Science Topics in Pharmacy Curricula

Objective: To identify a consensus among pharmacy educators regarding relevant social/administrative science (SAS) topic areas and their priorities within pharmacy curricula.

Methods: A modified Delphi process was conducted with members of selected American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) affinity groups as the expert panel. Eighty-three potential topic areas across 12 domains were gathered via an informal literature review. Four rounds of electronic surveys were conducted in June 2023, September 2023, January 2024, and March 2024. Questionnaires queried the importance and tiered priority ranking of topics using methodology adapted from the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) Pharmacotherapy Didactic Curriculum Toolkit.

Results: A total of 147, 140, 139, and 111 respondents participated in each of the four rounds, respectively. Approximately two-thirds of respondents were women, with just over half working at public institutions, and had a median of 12-15 years of experience in academia. The final list of SAS topics after four rounds included 76 topics across 11 domains, with 35 topics (46%) placed in tier 1, 28 topics (37%) in tier 2, and 13 (17%) in tier 3.

Conclusion: A tiered prioritization of SAS topics results can assist institutions in curricular mapping and preparation of graduates for pharmacy practice of today and the future.