(69) Identifying Essential Skills for Pharmacy Students in Florida: A Modified Delphi Study

Objective : To support the development of a data-driven pharmacy skills curriculum, this project seeks to 1) identify the perceived essential skills of practicing pharmacists within the State of Florida and 2) determine alignment of these skills with the 2022 American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) Curricular Outcomes and Entrustable Professional Activities (COEPAs).

Methods: Investigators utilized a modified Delphi approach. Eligible survey participants included members of the Preceptor Advisory Council (PAC) at the University of South Florida Taneja College of Pharmacy (USF TCOP). The PAC comprises of three ad-hoc committees, with at least 5 members grouped by specialty: community, inpatient, and outpatient. Surveys were administered electronically via Qualtrics for three rounds between 2022 and 2023. Survey formats included a free response for Round 1 (develop list of skills), then ranking identified skills by importance in Rounds 2 and 3 (Likert scale of 1-10). Consensus for an essential skill was determined by at least an 80% agreement after Round 3. The final essential skills list was mapped to the AACP COEPAs for alignment.

Results: Response rates include Round 1- 92.9% (n= 13), Round 2- 50% (n= 7), and Round 3- 71.4% (n= 10). Round 1 identified 28 distinct skills within the categories of communication, managerial, patient safety, ethics, and knowledge. Following Round 3, 23 essential skills were identified. Upon comparison to the COEPAs, the essential skills identified match with each Skills sub-domain, except for 2.3 Cultural and Structural Humility and 2.8 Population Health and Wellness.

Conclusions: The identified essential skills share alignment with the COEPAs despite different terminology. This project shares insights into the similarities and differences in perceived essential skills of practicing pharmacists and the pharmacy academy.