Co-curricular assessment plan for developing pharmacy professionals (RxPro) after the first professional year

Area of Science:

• Pharmacy Education
• Medical Education
• Professional Development

Background:

• Co-curricular activities are increasingly recognized for their role in shaping student professionalism.
• Assessing professionalism in health professions students is crucial for developing competent practitioners.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of co-curricular activities on the professionalism of first-year pharmacy students.
• To compare the sensitivity of two assessment tools in detecting changes in student professionalism.

Main Methods:

• A prospective cohort study followed first-year pharmacy students.
• Students participated in co-curricular activities each semester.
• Professionalism was assessed using the RxPro VALUE rubric and the Professionalism Assessment Tool (PAT) at baseline and end of year.

Main Results:

• The RxPro VALUE rubric showed significant improvements (p < 0.05) in five domains, including connections to experience, diversity, civic identity, empathy, and self-assessment.
• No significant changes were observed in the Professionalism Assessment Tool (PAT) scores from baseline to end of year (p = 0.35).

Conclusions:

• The RxPro VALUE rubric effectively identified growth in professional behaviors among first-year pharmacy students.
• The Professionalism Assessment Tool (PAT) may be less sensitive in detecting subtle changes in professionalism within this timeframe.