Preparing PharmD Graduates for AI-Enabled Practice: A Competency Framework to Complement Existing ACPE Standards

To propose a competency framework defining the AI-specific knowledge, skills, and attitudes Doctor of Pharmacy graduates should demonstrate, and to map these competencies to existing accreditation standards.

While professional organizations and educators have developed valuable resources for using AI to teach, and existing ACPE Standards do not yet address AI directly. The proposed framework organizes competencies into three interrelated domains structured as a developmental progression: foundational AI literacy, critical use and appraisal of AI outputs, and responsible integration in practice. The framework extends skills already foundational to pharmacy education rather than introducing a parallel curriculum, maps each domain to existing standards, and provides examples for embedding competencies into current curricula. Continuing professional development sustains competency as technologies evolve.

The proposed framework offers pharmacy programs a starting point for preparing graduates for AI-enabled practice. Because it has not been formally validated, it is intended to anchor the consensus-building, implementation, and assessment work that should follow.