Incremental development of an integrated assessment method for the professional curriculum

Area of Science:

• Pharmacy Education
• Curriculum Development
• Assessment in Higher Education

Background:

• Pharmacy programs require robust assessment strategies to evaluate student competency.
• Integrating knowledge and skills assessments into existing coursework can enhance learning outcomes.
• Accreditation standards necessitate effective formative and summative assessments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and implement biannual integrated knowledge and skills examinations in the first three years of a pharmacy curriculum.
• To embed these examinations into final course assessments, contributing 10% to the final grade.
• To enhance the college's assessment culture and meet accreditation requirements.

Main Methods:

• Forming an integrated examination committee to guide the process.
• Establishing year-specific committees to identify key content and develop measurable objectives.
• Creating and refining multiple-choice and performance-based questions based on integrated objectives.
• Implementing an iterative review process involving faculty and student performance data.

Main Results:

• Achieved all eight performance objectives for the integrated examinations.
• Secured participation from 64% of the college's faculty, enhancing examination quality.
• Minimized faculty burden through incremental development over three years.
• Improved student comprehension of knowledge and skill retention expectations.

Conclusions:

• Biannual integrated examinations strengthened the assessment culture within the pharmacy college.
• The developed examinations effectively addressed accreditation guidelines for student knowledge and skills assessment.
• The program demonstrated a successful model for continuous refinement and improvement of pharmacy education assessments.