Providing quality improvement training in an advanced pharmacy practice experience elective

Quality Improvement (QI) science is a burgeoning component of healthcare systems and the practice of pharmacy. There is limited published literature on the implementation of QI training in undergraduate pharmacy education. We describe the development and implementation of QI training in an experiential course.

A QI curriculum was developed for an existing eight-week pharmacy practice elective experience for year four pharmacy students. The curriculum was divided into two, four-week blocks, combining didactic instruction and applied learning activities. A partnership between university departments and a local health organization provided a QI preceptor along with an interdisciplinary clinical team in an acute care setting to improve clinical services.

Six students have completed the elective along with completing three QI projects. The Kirkpatrick 4 level model guided course evaluation. A curriculum strength was no additional cost or educational burden on the faculty of pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences. Students recognized benefit from (1) course flexibility and independence to learn, (2) clear expectations and weekly guidance from the preceptor, (3) alignment of weekly readings and real-time application of QI concepts, and (4) the Institute for Healthcare Improvement education modules. Reducing the number of assigned tasks per week and improving availability of the clinical QI team to support student learning were identified as areas for improvement.

This elective course demonstrated a starting point from which QI education can be formally included in pharmacy undergraduate education.