(320) Preceptor Partnership: Collaborative Development of a Shared COEPA-based APPE Evaluation across a Seven-Program Experiential Consortium

Objective : To evaluate the thematic findings of two preceptor focus group sessions to inform the development of an updated COEPA-based consortium APPE evaluation tool.

Methods: The Northwest Pharmacy Experiential Consortium (NWPEC) initially reached out to focus group members via an emailed survey. In the survey, participating preceptors provided feedback on a draft evaluation tool and could express interest in attending a focus group session. Those expressing interest were then invited to participate in the focus group via e-mail. Two focus group sessions were conducted via Zoom® between December 2023 and January 2024. Focus group questions were developed based on survey feedback from over 200 preceptors. The same facilitator led each focus group, with two additional consortium members attending for note-taking and moderating purposes. Transcripts were reviewed to identify key thematic findings within sections of the evaluation tool.

Results: Seventeen preceptors participated in the focus group sessions. Preceptors represented both non-patient care elective sites and core practice settings (community, institutional, acute care, ambulatory care). Preceptors from six of the seven colleges within the consortium were represented across the focus sessions. Key themes included 1) aspects of the EPA scale numbering system and wording were difficult to navigate; 2) the population health promoter language was perceived to be not applicable in many settings; 3) interpretation of practice management varied amongst preceptors.

Conclusions: Designing focus group questions based on the initial survey feedback draft evaluation helped optimize time and target feedback from the focus group's preceptors. Consortium preceptors provided instrumental feedback in refining a COEPA-focused APPE evaluation and helped to ensure the language and functionality applied to all rotation sites.