Performance, Determinants, and Acceptability of a Clinical Pharmacy Assessment in Hospital Pharmacy Education

Background: Pharmacy students in France complete an equivalent six-month full-time hospital placement during the fifth year of their university curriculum. At our school, it includes a clinical pharmacy within a medical ward, with daily supervision by a clinical pharmacist and a pharmacy resident. This training has been strengthened by the introduction of a workplace-based formative assessment conducted at the end of the clinical pharmacy rotation, alongside weekly clinical case discussions at the school, culminating in an end-of-year oral assessment. Objective: To assess the performance, determinants, and acceptability of this assessment model. Methods: We conducted a retrospective, single-center study over ten academic years (2013-2023). The evaluation combined three complementary components: the workplace-based clinical assessment based on real patient interactions, the case-based oral assessment, and students' satisfaction. Results: Nearly one thousand students were included. Students' performances remained stable over time. Higher scores were observed among students with prior clinical experience and those enrolled in hospital-focused training pathways. Student satisfaction was high, particularly in settings with direct pharmaceutical supervision, which was strongly associated with improved perceived learning, engagement, and supervision quality. Conclusions: Beyond performance measurement, this model appears to foster clinical reasoning, professional development, and student engagement, suggesting its relevance for competency-based pharmacy education.