Developing consensus on entrustable professional activities for bachelor of pharmacy graduates in Namibia: A modified...

Area of Science:

• Pharmacy Education
• Competency-Based Assessment
• Health Workforce Development

Background:

• Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) are crucial for competency-based pharmacy education, translating skills into observable workplace tasks.
• Limited context-specific EPAs exist for undergraduate pharmacy training in low- and middle-income countries like Namibia.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and gain consensus on core EPAs for University of Namibia Bachelor of Pharmacy (BPharm) graduates before their internship.
• Establish a foundational set of workplace activities essential for newly qualified pharmacists in Namibia.

Main Methods:

• A two-round modified Delphi study involved Namibian pharmacists with intern supervision experience.
• Forty draft EPAs were evaluated using Likert scales and qualitative feedback, with consensus thresholds applied in two rounds.
• Refinement of the EPA framework was guided by descriptive statistics and analysis of qualitative comments.

Main Results:

• Eighteen of 33 invited pharmacists completed Round 1, and 10 completed Round 2.
• Eleven EPAs were excluded in Round 1 (veterinary, disaster, management).
• Seventeen EPAs were removed in Round 2 for failing essentiality or observability criteria, leading to a final framework of 12 core EPAs.

Conclusions:

• A contextually relevant EPA framework for Namibian BPharm graduates was successfully developed.
• The framework can inform curriculum development, workplace-based assessments, and enhance graduate readiness for practice.
• This initiative addresses a critical gap in pharmacy education within a low-resource setting.