A Qualitative Exploration of ACPE Standard 4 Key Elements From the Perspective of Student Pharmacists

Attitudes and skills reflecting the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education Standard 4 (ACPE-S4) remain an important component of pharmacy education. The objectives of this study were (1) explore student perspectives on the importance of ACPE-S4 key elements, and (2) identify experiences that students described as supporting ACPE-S4 attitude and skill development.

This was a qualitative study using focus groups and dyadic interviews with student pharmacists to collect data on ACPE-S4 key element importance and skill acquisition. A general inductive qualitative approach was used to analyze data, with 2 study authors independently reviewing all transcripts and assigning codes to text segments. Authors then met to discuss coding, iteratively organize coded segments into categories and subcategories, and select representative quotes.

Overall, 3 focus groups and 3 dyadic interviews were conducted with a total of 20 students. Students ranked professionalism and self-awareness as the 2 most important key elements. From qualitative analysis, 4 categories and 10 subcategories of educational activities, programs, and experiences were identified as follows: Mentorship (Identifying a Mentor, Formal Mentorship Programs), Curriculum (Practice Lab, Professional Development Course, Interprofessional Education, Experiential Education), Cocurriculum (Organizational Involvement, Volunteer Hours), and Opportunities Outside Academic Setting (Work, Conferences, and Innovative Pharmacy Practices).

Participants articulated several opportunities for developing the skills and attitudes reflecting ACPE-S4 key elements. Incorporating student input into ACPE-S4 attitude and skill development may help pharmacy programs consider how to design, refine, and implement initiatives and experiences to help students develop skills across ACPE-S4 focus areas.