Current state of APPE-readiness assessments in schools or colleges of pharmacy

Objective: To determine components and assessments included in Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE) readiness plans in United States Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) programs.

Methods: An electronic survey was emailed to the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Laboratory Instructors Special Interest Group. Survey items included demographic information about the program, APPE-readiness plan implementation status and components. The survey asked participants to indicate which skills and knowledge assessments were remediable and the methods used for remediation. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics.

Results: Thirty-six institutions (25 %) were represented in the survey results, with the majority (83.3 %) from a 4-year traditional PharmD program. Most participants were in the implementing (66.7 %) or creating (16.7 %) a formalized APPE-readiness plan stage. Most participants reported that APPE-readiness was determined based on skills (77.8 %) and/or knowledge (72.2 %) assessments within courses. The assessments represented in 50 % or more of APPE-readiness plans include: communication/patient counseling (100 %), collection of patient history (90 %), calculations (80 %), Top 200/300 drugs (73 %), SOAP note/documentation (73 %), provider interaction (70 %), outpatient (70 %) and inpatient (63 %) order fulfillment, drug information (67 %), medication reconciliation (60 %), immunization training (57 %), and Pharmacists' Patient Care Process assessments (50 %). The majority of assessments were incorporated into skills laboratory courses and were remediable. Most programs permitted one or more repeat attempts.

Conclusions: There are some similarities in skills and knowledge assessments represented in PharmD APPE-readiness plans. This can help guide other schools or colleges of pharmacy that wish to develop their own APPE-readiness plan in the future.