The Acute Care Assessment Tool: 'Pharmacy ACAT'

The Acute Care Assessment Tool (ACAT) was developed as a workplace-based assessment (WPBA) for trainee performance whilst working in acute medicine. Here, we discuss the multi-professional potential of ACAT through a pilot with foundation and senior hospital pharmacists.

The pharmacy profession is engaging meaningfully with foundation training for pharmacists akin to doctor foundation training, and has launched a post-foundation recognition scheme as a route to advanced generalist or specialist practice. Foundation training has included the adoption of familiar WPBA, such as the mini-clinical evaluation exercise (mini-CEX) and case-based discussion (CbD). However, mini-CEX and CbD are 'snapshot' assessments, and we identified a need for the assessment of practice over a short period of time. A local director of medical education suggested ACAT. We identified a need for the assessment of practice over a short period of time INNOVATION: Permission was gained from the Joint Royal Colleges of Physicians to adapt the ACAT to form the 'Pharmacy ACAT'. Adaptations were based on the two current Royal Pharmaceutical Society competency frameworks used for foundation and post-foundation practice. The 'Pharmacy ACAT' was piloted across three acute hospitals (known as 'Trusts') in London for foundation trainees, and was found to be broadly acceptable in terms of time and was valued for feedback, particularly for foundation pharmacy trainees. Senior pharmacists at the single pilot site were more sceptical.

We believe that the 'Pharmacy ACAT' should be considered for routine use in pharmacy foundation training in hospital and community practice as it 'plugs a gap' in the current scheme of WPBA, by allowing the assessment of a short period of practice as opposed to a snapshot. It also has potential for use at undergraduate level.