(129) Student Performance in Writing SOAP Notes Throughout the Didactic Pharmacy Curriculum

Objective : To determine SOAP note performance throughout the PY1-PY3 didactic curriculum.

Methods: Summary reports of all PY1-PY3 SOAP assignments utilizing a standardized, validated rubric from the graduating classes of 2022-2026 were analyzed. Performance reports consist of five major domains: Subjective, Objective, Assessment, Plan, and General as well as several subdomains. The overall average score for the five domains were calculated from the subdomain scores. Average scores for the five domains were compared to determine differences between didactic years as well as three graduating classes. Grading scales are divided into three performance categories: below mid-performance (no credit), mid-performance (partial credit), and above mid-performance (full credit). To account for variations in assignment-specific grading scales, performance categories were normalized during data analysis and re-analyzed. Statistical analysis was conducted via SPSS using a one-way ANOVA with a Bonferroni correction.

Results: Sixty-nine assignments were included in the analysis. Average scores per major domain per didactic year were: PY1s: (n=32), 92% Subjective, 88.6% Objective, 85.3% Assessment, 86% Plan, and 87.3% General; PY2s: (n=20), 87% Subjective, 84.8% Objective, 79.8% Assessment, 81.5% Plan, and 93.4% General; PY3s: (n=17), 91.3% Subjective, 85.1% Objective, 84% Assessment, 82.9% Plan, and 90.6% General. There were no significant differences in scores between didactic years. After normalization of scores based on performance categories there were still no significant differences. When comparing didactic year performance within each graduating class, there was a 31.5% improvement in performance from the P2 to P3 year (p < 0.001) in the Assessment domain for the class of 2022.

Conclusions: Overall, students performed well on SOAP assignments during all didactic years in the curriculum; however, there was no evidence of progressive improvement in performance.