Defining core conceptual knowledge: Why pharmacy education needs a new, evidence-based approach.

Area of Science:

• Pharmacy Education
• Educational Assessment
• Curriculum Development

Background:

• Pharmacy programs lack time/resources to teach all current knowledge.
• Exponential growth in content and declining instructional time challenge curricula.
• Lack of consensus on core concepts hinders consistent learning outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose adapting the evidence-based core concepts approach for pharmacy education.
• To enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of didactic knowledge transfer.
• To address the need for research-based criteria and assessment tools.

Main Methods:

• Adapting the core concepts and concept inventory methodology from other scientific disciplines.
• Initiating a multinational research effort to identify and define essential pharmacy concepts.
• Developing psychometrically validated assessment tools for core knowledge.

Main Results:

• Identified a need for evidence-based criteria for core pharmacy knowledge.
• Highlighted the potential of core concepts and concept inventories to improve learning.
• Proposed a framework for developing and assessing foundational pharmacy knowledge.

Conclusions:

• Adopting a core concepts approach can improve pharmacy education.
• Multinational research is underway to define and assess essential pharmacy knowledge.
• This approach can lead to more consistent and effective learning outcomes.