Jim Woulfe

Nationwide collaborative development of learning outcomes and exemplar standards for Australian pharmacy programmes

Internationally, the preparation of pharmacy graduates for professional practice has evolved from educating for capacities for practice, to a focus on competencies, and most recently, on assuring graduate outcomes. Consequently, there is an increasing emphasis on the specification of and accountability around student learning outcomes. This, in turn, has implications for teaching and assessment. The aim of the study was to harmonise the various expectations and regulatory requirements for Australian pharmacy education programmes through the development of learning outcomes and exemplar standards for all entry‐level pharmacy graduates.

Building critical reflection skills for lifelong learning in the emergent landscape of a national registration and accreditation scheme.

In 2010 many of the health disciplines in Australia will be involved in national registration and accreditation, to ensure a more sustainable and flexible health workforce for the future. To this end, in each of the health professions, there is an increasing emphasis on reflective practice and lifelong learning to maintain practice competency. This research focuses on academic teaching and learning in the Pharmacy undergraduate curriculum to develop an indicator tool of graduate practice skills before the student enters the practice internship year. The Graduated Descriptors Competency Tool was developed by means of state, territory, and national stakeholder collaboration. The aim of the project was to assist the scaffolding processes around undergraduate practice teaching and learning. Students on experiential placements have used the tool to demonstrate their current practice skills and the learning required to attain competency during their internship year. Students are guided to develop critical reflection skills for deep understanding and insight into the continued learning and professional development required to maintain long-term health care expertise.

Support Needed by Pharmacy Students in Experiential Placements: Stakeholders' Expectations

From July 2010, Australian state and territory pharmacy registration boards will be replaced by a national body that will register health professionals and also accredit university pharmacy programs. Traditionally, assessment during the pharmacy internship year and national examination provide consistency at the post‐graduation stages, but the endpoints of university programs have been derived within state and territory contexts.

Development and trialling of a graduated descriptors tool for Australian pharmacy students

Profession-derived competency standards are key determinants for curriculum and assessment in many professional university programmes. An Australian Learning and Teaching Council funded project used a participatory action research approach to enable the collaborative development of a graduated (or incremental) descriptors tool related to competencies, applicable to Australian pharmacy students at various stages within their university programmes. Consultations with pharmacy professional/registration organisations, students, preceptors and academics throughout Australia were undertaken. Recording of key themes of discussions and progressive development of the tool occurred. Initial trialling of the tool in pharmacy programmes at two different Australian universities has indicated that students were ambivalent regarding the tool and, for example, its usefulness for self-assessment against competencies and its role in supporting learning. Preceptors, supporting students on placements, were however very positive about the tool, its usefulness in supporting learning and in supporting discussions between preceptors and students.