Evaluation of student perceptions of introductory pharmacy practice experiences

Evaluation of student perceptions of introductory pharmacy practice experiences

Boyle Jaclyn A; Jenkins Zachary N; Franz Thaddeus T; Cather Charles W; Deitschmann Nicole K; Harper Nicole G; Dittmer Alison; Hartline Christy

Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning

Introduction Introductory pharmacy practice experiences (IPPEs) are focused on sharpening the student's knowledge, skills, abilities, and attitudes related to becoming an effective member of the healthcare team. Currently, the literature on student pharmacists' perceptions focused only on advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs). This study gathered perceptions of IPPEs from pharmacy students in their first through third year professional years. Results Sixty-six students completed the pre- and post- surveys with matching, identifiable data for analysis. Twenty-nine items demonstrated a more negative perception of IPPEs between the pre- and post-surveys (p < 0.05). Eight items demonstrated a difference by institution (p < 0.05), while three items demonstrated a difference between professional years (p < 0.05). Conclusions Student expectations of IPPEs were significantly less positive in the pre-survey than in the post-survey. Future studies should examine the implications of these results on student IPPE performance and methods to impact student perception of the value of IPPE training. @@@@Highlights •Decrease in favorable student perceptions may be related to lack of well-defined student expectations or variability in preceptor training.•It is unknown how student perceptions correlated with IPPE site and preceptor evaluations.•Creating meaningful IPPE experiences and providing clear expectations for students is imperative.

Perception; Experiential training; Introductory pharmacy practice experiences

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Journal Article

NEOMED College of Pharmacy; NEOMED College of Graduate Studies

Department of Pharmacy Practice

March 2020 Update