Collaborative development of a shared objective structured clinical examination to assess the pharmacist patient care...

Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) assess pharmacy students' application of the Pharmacists' Patient Care Process (PPCP) through communication skills. Collaborative OSCE case development among institutions may enrich case quality and establish minimal competencies with greater generalizability for diverse patient care settings. This study describes a collaboration between two California public pharmacy schools to develop and implement shared OSCE cases assessing minimal competency prior to advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs).

Two public schools of pharmacy in California partnered to create a standardized OSCE case repository. Activities included joint blueprinting, development of PPCP-aligned content checklists, a shared communication rubric, and a structured standard-setting process involving faculty and APPE preceptors. Three OSCEs, testing diabetes, depression, and hypertension competencies, were administered to students at both institutions between 2020 and 2021.

First-time pass rates ranged from 77.5 to 92.1 %, with average scores of 72.5-80.8 %. Aggregate communication scores were consistent across cases, while content scores varied based on case complexity and curriculum timing. Performance also varied across schools. Student demographics were similar, though differences in undergraduate GPA and first-generation status were observed.

This collaboration demonstrated that cross-institutional OSCE case development and implementation are feasible. Despite logistical challenges, shared case development offered meaningful insights into APPE readiness expectations and curriculum alignment. This model may inform future regional efforts to establish competency benchmarks in pharmacy education.