Students Research in Progress
Monday, October 14, 2024
01:00 PM–02:30 PM
Abstract
Introduction:
Skill development in pharmacy education is critical, however recent emphasis has shifted to entrustability: the level of trust a supervisor places in an individual. This concept, often assessed through Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs), allows supervisors to evaluate an individual’s ability to complete work-related tasks under varying degrees of supervision. The impact of environmental complexity on skill competency and entrustability in pharmacy education remains unexplored, with no existing literature on this topic. While the Dreyfus and Dreyfus skill development model evaluates skill competency, this proposed educational model considers the relationship between competency, entrustability, and environmental complexity and their role in professional skill development. This model assumes that entrustability increases slowly at first, then more rapidly as higher levels of competency rise. This study intends to determine if this educational model can be utilized for skill assessment of individuals in pharmacy practice across the stages of the professional lifespan.
Research Question or Hypothesis: What entrustability level would pharmacy practice faculty provide an individual given a scenario in which the individual’s skill competency and environmental complexity is known?
Study Design: Nationwide prospective survey-based quantitative study.
Methods: An anonymous 25 question scenario-based Qualtrics survey was emailed to active Pharmacy Practice Faculty members of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. Respondents assigned an entrustability level (on a 5-point scale) to individuals in each scenario of a given skill competency and environmental complexity. Means and standard deviations of entrustability will be calculated to create a matrix assessing the relationship between competency, complexity, and entrustability. Goodman and Kruskal's Gamma will analyze these associations, with significance testing (p<.05) on the coefficients. Analysis will be conducted using SYSTAT 13 or IBM/SPSS. While a power analysis is not possible due to limited prior studies, the estimated sample size of 500 should ensure sufficient statistical power.
Results: To be provided.
Conclusion: To be provided.
Presenting Author
Kayla Bey B.S.Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences - Boston
Authors
Kathy Peno Ph.D
University of Rhode Island
Richard Silvia PharmD, MA, FCCP, BCPP
MCPHS University - Boston