Pharmacy resident teaching and learning curriculum program outcomes: Student performance and quality assessment

The purpose of this study was to assess: (1) student performance on topics taught by first and second year postgraduate pharmacy residents and (2) the quality of learning objectives and multiple choice questions prepared by pharmacy residents.

Using a retrospective cohort design, residents and students who taught or were enrolled, respectively, in the Medication Therapy Management course in years 2010 to 2012 were participants in this study. Student performance was assessed using scores earned on the individual readiness assurance tests (iRATs), team readiness assurance tests (tRATs), and course examinations. To assess the quality of the learning objectives and multiple choice questions written by pharmacy residents, criteria were established by the authors. Each learning objective and multiple choice question was then evaluated independently by two authors to determine if these criteria were met.

Statistical differences were observed in student performance across all content areas among the three years for iRAT, tRAT, and course examination scores, with the exception of the heart failure course examination (p = 0.05; all other p-values < 0.05). A total of 20 (42%) learning objectives met all quality review criteria, while 73 (79%) of the multiple-choice questions met all quality review criteria.

Student performance varied significantly depending on the content, but the overall impact of resident instructors on student course performance was not educationally significant. Teaching and learning curriculum programs should focus on teaching residents to create quality learning objectives that help students focus on learning the most important course content.