PHARMACY DEGREE PROGRAM
ACCREDITATION and CERTIFICATION
Peter H. Vlasses, PharmD, DSc (Hon.), BCPS, FCCP
Executive Director
IX Pan American Conference on Pharmaceutical Education
University of Maryland School of Pharmacy
Baltimore, MD
June 2-4, 2014
Presentation
• Evolution of the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD)
as the entry level practice degree in U.S.
• Overview of the current and draft PharmD
accreditation standards and processes
• Development of international certification
criteria and processes
• Some thoughts for the breakout group
deliberations
• Questions and answers
Accreditation Council for
Pharmacy Education (ACPE)
• ACPE accredits:
– Professional degree programs (i.e., PharmD)
• Recognized by:
– U.S. Department of Education
– Council on Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA)
– Providers of continuing pharmacy education
– Pharmacy technician programs – with ASHP
(2015)
• ACPE certifies:
– Professional degree programs outside the USA
and its territories
Accreditation in Pharmacy
• Public recognition accorded by a reliable
authority to degree programs or continuing
education providers judged to meet
established qualifications and educational
standards
• Determined on the basis of initial and
periodic evaluation
• Listing of accredited programs and
providers maintained on web site
GENERAL PUBLIC
(consumers of
Regulators of pharmacy
pharmacist services)
practice
State and federal
government
Students and
prospective
students
Other
accreditation
agencies
Other Health
Professions
Employers/
Trade
CE Providers
Pharmacy organizations
Colleges and schools of
pharmacy
Individual educators and
practitioners
ACPE Standards
USDE Criteria
Standardization
Consistency
Program-driven; ACPE-encouraged
Innovation
Individuality
Factors Influencing Professional
Program Standards in Pharmacy
• Charters’ Pharmacy Curriculum Study of
1927 11 entry degrees existed across the
U.S.; proposed standardized curriculum for
pharmacy (BS); led to founding of ACPE
• Elliott’s Pharmaceutical Survey of 1946
proposed expanded curriculum leading to
the six year Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm D),
2 years general studies, 4 professional
years
Emphasis of pharmacy practice and
education needed to evolve:
From
“Drugs”
to
“Patients and their Drugs”
First Professional Degrees
Conferred 1980 - 2008
Source: AACP Profile of Pharmacy Students
12000
10000
BS
PharmD
8000
6000
4000
2000
* 2004/05 - 2007/08 projections based on fall 2004 enrollments by expected graduation year
07-08
06-07
05-06
04-05
03-04
02-03
01-02
00-01
99-00
98-99
97-98
96-97
95-96
94-95
93-94
92-93
91-92
90-91
89-90
88-89
87-88
86-87
85-86
84-85
83-84
82-83
81-82
80-81
79-80
0
ACPE Degree Program Accreditation
and U.S. Pharmacy Regulations
Graduation from an ACPEaccredited pharmacy degree
program is required by state boards
of pharmacy for applicants to take
the North American Pharmacist
Licensure Exam (NAPLEX®)
Number of Colleges and Schools of
Pharmacy with ACPE-Accredited
Degree Programs*
131
75
74
* Inclusive of January 2014 ACPE Board Actions
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2002
2000
1995
1990
1985
1980
1975
Schools With No Degrees Conferred
Schools Conferring Degrees
1970
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
Standards 2007 Guidelines v2.0
• Mission, Planning, and Evaluation
• Organization and Administration
• Curriculum
– Expected student competencies
– Assessment of student learning
– Mapping to Appendices B & C required
• Students
• Faculty and Staff
• Facilities and Resources
Appendix B = Guidance on the science foundation of curriculum
Appendix C = Guidance for experiential curriculum
30 Standards*
151
Guidelines
U.S. Professional Degree
Program Accreditation
 Evaluation (usual term = 8 years)
 Standards-based college or school self-study –
takes 1 year or more
 ACPE site team visit to validate the self study as
well as third-party comments/complaints
 Public Interest Panel review
 Actions and Recommendations by Board of
Directors - based on compliance with standards
 Sets next term of review
 Specifies monitoring
Joint Commission of Pharmacy
Practitioners (JCPP) Vision 2015
Pharmacy education and continuing education will
prepare pharmacists to:
 Provide patient-centered and population-based
care that optimizes medication therapy
 Manage health care system resources to
improve therapeutic outcomes
 Promote health improvement, wellness, and
disease prevention
JCPP Vision forms basis of ACPE standards for
degree programs and CPE providers
To achieve competencies, able to:
• communicate and collaborate
• analyze and interpret scientific literature
• evaluate the quality of evidence to apply
study results to practice decisions
• demonstrate expertise in informatics
• follow legal, ethical, social, economic, and
professional guidelines
• maintain professional competence
The PharmD Degree
KNOW
DO
BE
Knowledge + + + + + + + + Skills + + + + + + + Attitudes/Behavior
Dependent/directed learner
3 years
1 year
Independent/self-directed
lifelong learner
ENTER PRACTICE
2 years (min.)
IPPEs and simulations
Pharmacy Practice
Experiences APPEs
(patient settings)
Pre-Professional
Behavioral, Social, Admin
& Clinical Sciences/
Apply & build on
knowledge
Biomedical &
Pharmaceutical
Sciences/Didactic
What prompted ACPE to revise the
Accreditation Standards?
• Experience gained in accreditation reviews since adoption
of the Doctor of Pharmacy standards in 2007
• Feedback from ACPE stakeholders regarding quality
improvement of the standards
– Outcomes of the 2012 ACPE Invitational
Conference
• Expansion of the scope of pharmacy practice in state laws
and regulations (i.e., collaborative practice with
prescribers)
• Revision of the AACP’s Center for the Advancement of
Pharmacy Education (CAPE) Educational Outcomes
in 2013
What prompted ACPE to revise the
Accreditation Standards?
• Joint Commission of Pharmacy Practitioners’
(JCPP) Vision of Pharmacy Practice
– Released in 2013
• Pharmacists’ Patient Care Process
– Developed by 11 collaborating organizations, including
ACPE; approved May 29, 2014
– Will be included in Standards 2016
• Key references:
– Health Professionals for a New Century: Transforming Education
to Strengthen Health Systems in an Interdependent World
– Core Competencies for Interprofessional Collaborative Practice
Joint Commission of Pharmacy
Practitioners (JCPP) Vision
(Revised 2013)
Patients achieve optimal health and
medication outcomes with pharmacists
as essential and accountable providers
within patient‐centered, team-based
healthcare.
Pharmacists’ Patient Care Process
Pharmacists use a patient-centered approach in collaboration with other providers
on the health care team to optimize patient health and medication outcomes.
What are the major differences in
Draft Standards 2016?
• Standards (“must”) and Guidance (“should/could”) are
now two distinct documents
• Philosophy and Emphasis – The standards ensure that
graduating students are “practice-ready” and “teamready”
• Greater emphasis on critical educational outcomes
identified by CAPE and the assessment of student
achievement of outcomes
• Importance of both curricular and co-curricular
experiences in advancing the professional development
of students
What are the major differences in
Draft Standards 2016?
• Organized into three major sections:
– Educational Outcomes
– Structure and Process to Promote Achievement of
Educational Outcomes
– Assessment
• Four appendices are included within the Standards
–
–
–
–
required elements of the didactic component of the curriculum
expectations within the Pre-APPE curriculum
experiential learning expectations within the curriculum
documentation needed for the standards and key
elements
Interprofessional Education
“When students from two
or more professions learn
about, from and with each
other to enable effective
collaboration and improve
health outcomes.”
World Health Organization, 2010
Barriers to IPE and IPCP
Nursing
Pharmacy
Hospital and academic healthcare Community healthcare
IPEC Interprofessional Competencies
• Values/Ethics
https://ipecollaborative.org/Resources.html
• Roles and Responsibilities
• Interprofessional
Communication
• Teams and Teamwork
ACPE International Services
• Long history of collaboration with other countries
• ISP established in 2011
• Assist international pharmacy stakeholders
– Quality assurance/advancement of education
– Develop quality criteria (“standards”) that may be
voluntarily used by degree programs outside of the
United States leading to certification
– Provide consultancy and training upon request
– Involve US and international consultants from the
pharmacy academic and practice communities
• General oversight by International Commission;
all decisions by ACPE Board of Directors
International Commission
• Patricia Acuña-Johnson, MSc, Valparaiso, Chile (Vice-Chair)
• Azza M. Agha, MSc., PhD, Cairo, Egypt
• Janet P. Engle, PharmD, FAPhA, Chicago, Illinois, USA (Chair)
• Peter J. Kielgast, MSc (Pharm), DSc (Hon), Copenhagen, Denmark
• Claude Mailhot, BPharm, DPH, PharmD, Montreal, Canada
• Indra Reddy, PhD, MS, Kingsville, TX, USA
• George R. Spratto, PhD, Oxford, Connecticut, USA
• Anthony K. Wutoh, PhD, RPh, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
• Timothy L. Tucker, PharmD, Huntingdon, Tennessee, USA (Board
Liaison)
Vision and Mission
Vision: Quality-assured pharmacy education
and training prepares graduates throughout the
world for expanded roles that optimize safe
and effective medication use and improve
patient care.
Mission: Promote, assure, and advance the
quality of pharmacy education internationally to
improve patient care through safe and effective
medication use.
Certification versus Accreditation?
• Primary purpose is to help interested countries
improve their pharmacy education and
practice; strong focus on working with the
school on quality improvement
• Certification is not directly linked to eligibility
for licensure (as accreditation is in state
legislation in the USA); not intended to imply or
confer eligibility to practice in any jurisdiction
Certification versus Accreditation?
PharmD Accreditation Standards designed
with US education and health systems in
mind
– have very specific requirements
– likely that only a limited number of non-USbased programs would meet these standards;
would limit ACPE’s ability to help countries
and institutions in their quality improvement
efforts
Certification versus Accreditation?
• Certification Quality Criteria:
– developed with globally broad-based pharmacy
educator and practitioner input
– serve as a valid point-of-reference for external peer
review
– evaluated in context of national needs and priorities
– not degree specific
• Certification review process is rigorous
International Quality Criteria
•
•
•
•
•
•
Mission, Goals, and Values (2)
Organization and Administration (3)
Curriculum (5)
Students and Academic Policies (3)
Staff Resources (2)
Facilities and Resources (4)
(number of criteria in each category in parentheses)
19 Total
Criteria
International Program
Certification
• King Saud University College of Pharmacy
– Granted international certification of pharmacy
degree programs in June 2013
– First certification
• Four new applications from four different
countries under review
International Collaborations
• Australian Pharmacy Council (APC)
• Canadian Council on Accreditation of Pharmacy
Education (CCAPP)
• Conférence Internationale des Doyens des
facultés de PHARMacie d'Expression Française
(CIDPHARMEF)
• Global Alliance for Pharmacy Education (GAPE)
• International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP)
• Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (PSI)
Q&A SESSION