The Educational and Course Objectives Survey 2004/2005:
Methods, Results, and Conclusions
College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
Academic Affairs Committee
The Academic Affairs Committee was asked to lead a curricular mapping exercise during the
2004-2005 academic year to determine potential areas of change for the pharmacy curriculum.
During the November 2004 faculty meeting, the previously approved PharmD Educational Goals
and Objectives (Appendix A) were ratified and used as the basis for the mapping project.
METHODS:
The Academic Affairs Committee reviewed the AACP 2004 Educational Objectives prepared by
the Center for the Advancement of Pharmaceutical Education (CAPE) and compared those
objectives with those of the Doctor of Pharmacy Program to determine if there were any aspects
of the CAPE Outcomes that were not covered through the Educational Goals and Objectives. It
was determined through this process (Appendix B) that the CAPE Outcomes were adequately
covered by the program’s Educational Objectives.
To gather information regarding the course objectives in each course, the Academic Affairs
Committee provided worksheets to the course coordinators of required Doctor of Pharmacy
courses to determine 1) the educational objectives covered in each course, 2) the level at which
the course objectives are being taught (using Bloom’s taxonomy classifications in the Cognitive,
Affective, and Psychomotor domains), and 3) the amount of time spent on each course objective,
used to determine the amount of time spent on each educational objective across the curriculum.
The main goal of the worksheet survey was to map the current PharmD curriculum course
objectives to our stated program educational objectives.
The TrueOutcomes software system was used to document the course objectives and their
corresponding program educational objectives. An Excel spreadsheet with charting capabilities
was used to compile the Bloom’s taxonomy classifications and percentage of the curriculum
spent on each Program Educational Objective.
The cumulative data for the entire 3 year PharmD curriculum was analyzed, and then the data
was subdivided into individual curriculum years (P1, P2, P3) for further analysis. Because the
Phar 173/174 course sections are not completed by every student, they were not included in this
analysis. Also excluded were professional elective courses and Bio 128.
Caveats to this process exist, namely that the levels at which the courses are taught, as well as the
estimates of the time spent, are all estimates and are self-reported by the faculty members
themselves.
RESULTS:
The following chart shows the courses mapped to the various educational objectives of the
College and the courses that apply to those outcome areas.
The following table was constructed by counting the number of courses that have at least one
objective at the following levels.
YEAR
P1
P2
P3
Number of courses taught at each level
AFFECTIVE
COGNITIVE
PSYCHOMOTOR
1
2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5
1
2 2 2 1 6 6 10 5 2 1
1
4
5 5 7 1 2 4 1
1
2
2 1 1 2 3 4 6 5 3 5 2
1 1 1
2
10 6 7 8 15 17 26 15 12 16 4 2 5 5 9
The majority of the course objectives reside within the cognitive domain (knowledge,
comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, evaluation), with the affective domain
(receiving, responding, valuing, organization, and value complex) next in frequency throughout
the P1-P3 years. The psychomotor domain (perception, set, guided response, mechanism,
complex overt reaction, adaptation, origination) is primarily covered during the P2 and P3 years.
When reviewing this information, the Academic Affairs Committee considered information
about the domains as well as the levels that exist within them. It appears that for the most part,
our course objectives increase in complexity as a student progresses through the curriculum, a
topic recently discussed in the literature. “Courses that come earlier in the curriculum would
operate at a more basic level whereas later courses would require students to perform at a
professional entry level.” It is thus expected that students would eventually “move beyond the
lower levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy (recall, comprehension) as they use their knowledge base to
perform complex disciplinary tasks.” (Zlatic, 2005).
The percentage of time spent on each curricular objective:
Using the percent of time spent on each course objective, the time spent on each program
educational objective was determined by considering the number of course credit hours and the
educational objectives mapped to that particular course objective. If a course objective mapped
to more than one program educational objective, the percent of time spent was divided by the
number of objectives covered in that course objective.
Percent of Time spent on each Educational Objective*
19
0%
18
0%
16
1%
14
1%
20
5%
21
3%
1
21%
17
3%
15
2%
13
2%
12
6%
2
15%
11
10%
10
0%
9
2%
3
4%
8
11%
7
4%
6
5%
4
5 2%
1%
*determined from the amount of time spent on each course objective and the particular
educational objective that it was mapped to.
This chart shows the amount of time spent on each objective throughout the 3 years of the
curriculum.
Program Education Objectives Most Frequently Covered in the Curriculum:
1. Given information about an individual patient, the graduate can gather, organize, analyze,
and interpret data and information pertinent to drug therapy.
2. Given information about an individual patient, the graduate can identify drug-related
problems as well as offer and justify alternative solutions.
8. Given a scientific question, the graduate can identify, analyze, and evaluate healthrelated, professional and disciplinary information resources.
11. The graduate can demonstrate effective communication of ideas, information, and the
results of problem-solving activities (i.e., decisions) to colleagues, other health
professionals and patients.
Educational Objectives not covered in course objectives:
10. The graduate can explain the need for and benefits derived from systematic, cumulative
research on problems of theory and practice.
18. The graduate can explain the benefits of advancing the knowledge, skills and values of
the profession and the role that the individual pharmacist can play in that advancement.
19. The graduate demonstrates the ability to assume leadership roles as appropriate in the
college, the profession and in society.
Comments and questions discussed by the Academic Affairs Committee after reviewing this
information:
1. Program Educational Objective 19, which refers to leadership experiences and abilities
does not have any time assigned to it from the objectives in required courses. Academic
Affairs Committee members questioned whether there needed to be a didactic course
objective that specifically addressed this objective, or if it might be something fulfilled
through extracurricular activities or the rotation year. The Assessment Committee is in
the process of developing a list of extracurricular activities/measurements that may
provide evidence for the fulfillment of this objective. In addition, Educational
Objectives 10 and 18 also do not have any time assigned to them from the required
courses that are completed by all students. The Academic Affairs Committee discussed
that these may need to be further reviewed to see if they are covered during the
experiential year, are contained within extracurricular activities, or if they are duplicative
with other program educational objectives.
2. Does the level indicated by the objectives match the assessment in each course? This is
an exercise that can best be determined by individual faculty members and the
Committee encourages faculty to review their course objectives to determine if they are
assessing students at the level implied in the course objective.
3. Is it appropriate to have substantial amounts of time in the curriculum devoted to the
program educational objectives 1, 2, 8 and 11? It is likely that most course objectives
cover a portion of these outcomes, and may be appropriate that “all the course outcomes
in this series, when taken together, would equal the college or program outcome” (Zlatic,
2005).
4. Should the Program Educational Objectives be revised or would it be appropriate to use
the Experiential Education Competencies as our overall program’s objectives?
Consideration for this is discussed further in the action steps below.
Recommended Action Steps:
1. Review the analysis completed a number of years ago to determine how the experiential
year competencies map to the program educational objectives. It may be appropriate to
have the conversation of using our experiential competencies to also serve as the program
educational objectives instead of having two sets of outcomes/competencies in existence.
The experiential competencies represent the knowledge, skills, and abilities that our
graduates should have achieved upon graduation. This approach is in place at other
institutions, is implied in “Revisioning Professional Education”, and is discussed as a
direct measure of assessment in “Assessment Clear and Simple”. We would recommend
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
that this review be completed during the Spring semester by the Academic Affairs
Committee.
Complete an analysis of the IDEA Evaluation reports to see what information is provided
and if it is possible to map the educational objectives with the teaching objectives
developed by the IDEA Center. We would recommend that this occur during the 200607 academic year, when two years of IDEA Center data is available from our courses.
Complete an informal audit of students to provide feedback regarding the objectives and
the level at which they are being taught. We would recommend that this occur during the
Spring 2006 semester by the Academic Affairs Committee.
Pursue content mapping to further determine topic omission and unnecessary
redundancy. We recommend that this be a charge of the Academic Affairs Committee
during the 2006-2007 academic year, when the topics included in the ACPE Guidelines
will be available and can be used as a foundation for this mapping.
Identify assignments that provide evidence of student achievement of the various course
objectives. For example, an IPPE assignment where a student has to identify a problem,
research therapeutic options, and communicate a decision could be an assessment of one
or more of the program educational outcomes. The capability to do this is contained
within the TrueOutcomes software system and faculty who have possible assignments
for this activity are encouraged to discuss this possibility with one of the Academic
Affairs Committee members.
Once the CAPE Supplement is released (expected in late Spring 2006), review that
document due to its inclusion of ability-based outcomes, based on content to clarify the
current CAPE Outcomes.
References:
Walvoord, Barbara. Assessment Clear and Simple. Jossey-Bass, 2004.
Zlatic, Thomas D. Re-visioning Professional Education: An Orientation to Teaching. American
College of Clinical Pharmacy, 2005.
Appendix A: Educational Goals and Objectives
of the
Professional Program in Pharmacy
Adopted by the Faculty; January 26, 1994
Revised by Faculty; November 21, 1997.
Reaffirmed by Faculty: November 19, 2004
These goals and objectives also serve as the program's objectives for the University's assessment
program.
The purpose of the pharmacy professional program is to provide the graduate with the relevant
knowledge base, skills, attitudes, ethics and values to engage in the entry-level practice of
pharmacy. The curriculum is designed to provide the graduate with competence in these areas:
A. Problem solving and decision making. In order to provide pharmaceutical care, the
pharmacist must have the skills of inquiry, abstract logical thinking and critical analysis to
identify problems, make judgments and decisions based on available data, or identify additional
needed data.
B. Management. Pharmaceutical care entails managing drug therapy, including
developing and implementing care plans and measuring therapeutic outcomes. In addition,
pharmacists manage personnel, supplies, practices, and departments. The effective and efficient
delivery of pharmaceutical care requires the effective and efficient management of a pharmacy
practice.
C. Life-long learning. Practice is a learning experience. The pharmacist must be able to
learn from problem-solving experiences. Pharmacists must acquire a continuing flow of new
knowledge. Life-long learning is dependent on the development of self-learning abilities and
habits.
D. Communicating and educating. The pharmacist must communicate with colleagues,
other professionals, and patients. Pharmacists, as members of society, communicate with other
citizens about health. Pharmacists must have the basic knowledge, confidence, attitudes, and
skills to read, write, listen, and speak effectively. Pharmacists must be able to deal effectively
with dissent, being able to disagree articulately and persuasively about patients' therapies.
E. Policy formulation and professional governance. Pharmacists must be able to take
active roles in shaping policies, practices, and future directions for the profession. Pharmacists
must look beyond their immediate practice settings to the environment of pharmacy and the
health care system. Pharmacists must be prepared to deal with issues of organization, financing,
delivery, payment, access, quality, and regulation of drugs and pharmacy services. Pharmacists
must be aware of methods of shaping change in the profession though policy formation in the
public and private sectors.
F. Professionalism. Pharmacists must understand and accept their duties and
responsibilities to patients, health care professionals, and their profession. Pharmacists are
expected to have developed value systems and ethical standards that guide their behavior.
Pharmacists must have a sense of the obligation they owe their patients and their duty to ensure
that obligation is fulfilled.
For each of these areas, objectives - which can be measured or assessed - have been developed
for purposes of evaluation. These are:
Solving Problems and Making Decisions
1.
Given information about an individual patient, the graduate can gather, organize,
analyze, and interpret data and information pertinent to drug therapy.
2.
Given information about an individual patient, the graduate can identify drugrelated problems as well as offer and justify alternative solutions.
3.
Given information about a group or population, the graduate can analyze drug
policies (formulary decisions, practice guidelines) and assess the implications for
4.
5.
the group’s health status and use of resources (e.g., costs).
The graduate can evaluate clinical studies and analyze epidemiologic and
demographic data to reach appropriate conclusions regarding a variety of issues
ranging from the effectiveness of therapies to identifying areas of practice needs.
The graduate can compare and contrast various scientific methods and can explain
the significance of their use in the discovery of knowledge.
Management
6.
The graduate can develop, justify, and monitor pharmaceutical care plans.
7.
Given a problem in managing (organizing, planning, directing and controlling) a
pharmaceutical care system or and in using resources (human and financial), the
graduate can develop and justify alternative solutions.
Life-long learning
8.
Given a scientific question, the graduate can identify, analyze, and evaluate
health-related, professional and disciplinary information resources.
9.
Given a current issue facing the pharmacy profession, the graduate can outline a
plan which would promote necessary changes in the profession and explain how
this would affect the management of his/her career.
10.
The graduate can explain the need for and benefits derived from systematic,
cumulative research on problems of theory and practice.
Communicating and Educating
11.
The graduate can demonstrate effective communication of ideas, information,
and the results of problem-solving activities (i.e., decisions) to colleagues, other
health professionals and patients.
12.
The graduate can, as a responsible member of society, demonstrate effective
communication of health issues to other citizens.
13.
Upon being placed in a conflict situation, the graduate can respond appropriately
to dissent.
14.
The graduate can recognize and integrate into his/her practice issues related to
communicating with patients and others whose culture is not Western and whose
native language is not English.
Policy Formulation and Professional Governance
15.
Given a health policy issue, the graduate can assess its implications for access,
quality, and cost of health care and pharmacy services.
16.
The graduate can explain the effects of societal and environmental factors on the
provision and receipt of pharmaceutical care services.
17.
The graduate can explain the roles that pharmacists play in the health care system,
justify the value of their contributions and develop solutions for overcoming
barriers facing pharmacy practice.
18.
The graduate can explain the benefits of advancing the knowledge, skills and
values of the profession and the role that the individual pharmacist can play in
that advancement.
19.
The graduate demonstrates the ability to assume leadership roles as appropriate in
the college, the profession and in society.
Professionalism
20.
The graduate can explain the duties and responsibilities of a pharmacist to his/her
21.
patients and apply these in every-day practice.
The graduate can articulate a personal value system and ethical standards that will
guide their professional behavior and can ethically justify decisions or actions
incongruent with the APhA Code of Ethics for Pharmacists.
Appendix B: Drake University COPHS PharmD Program Objectives and
AACP Center for the Advancement of Pharmaceutical Education (CAPE) Educational Outcomes 2004
CAPE OBJECTIVES
Drake University COPHS PHARM D PROGRAM OBJECTIVES
PHARMACEUTICAL CARE Provide pharmaceutical care in cooperation with patients, prescribers, and other members of an
interprofessional health care team based upon sound therapeutic principles and evidence-based data, taking into account relevant legal, ethical,
social, economic, and professional issues, emerging technologies, and evolving biomedical, sociobehavioral, and clinical sciences that may
impact therapeutic outcomes.
a. Provide patient-centered care.
i. Design, implement, monitor, evaluate,
1. Given information about an individual patient, the graduate can gather, organize,
and adjust pharmaceutical care plans that
analyze, and interpret data and information pertinent to drug therapy.
are patient-specific and evidence-based.
2. Given information about an individual patient, the graduate can identify drug-related
problems as well as offer and justify alternative solutions.
6. The graduate can develop, justify, and monitor pharmaceutical care plans.
ii. Communicate and collaborate with
11. The graduate can demonstrate effective communication of ideas, information, and the
prescribers, patients, care givers, and other results of problem-solving activities (i.e., decisions) to colleagues, other health
involved health care providers to engender professionals and patients.
a team approach to patient care.
iii. Retrieve, analyze, and interpret the
4. The graduate can evaluate clinical studies and analyze epidemiologic and demographic
professional, lay, and scientific literature
data to reach appropriate conclusions regarding a variety of issues ranging from the
to provide drug information to patients,
effectiveness of therapies to identifying areas of practice needs.
their families, and other involved health
care providers.
iv. Carry out duties in accordance with
21. The graduate can articulate a personal value system and ethical standards that will
legal, ethical, social, economic, and
guide their professional behavior and can ethically justify decisions or actions incongruent
professional guidelines
with the APhA Code of Ethics for Pharmacists.
v. Maintain professional competence by
8. Given a scientific question, the graduate can identify, analyze, and evaluate healthidentifying and analyzing emerging issues, related, professional and disciplinary information resources.
products, and services that may impact
9. Given a current issue facing the pharmacy profession, the graduate can outline a plan
patientspecific therapeutic outcomes.
which would promote necessary changes in the profession and explain how this would
affect the management of his/her career.
10. The graduate can explain the need for and benefits derived from systematic,
cumulative research on problems of theory and practice.
b. Provide population-based care.
i. Develop and implement population1. Given information about an individual patient, the graduate can gather, organize,
specific, evidence-based disease
analyze, and interpret data and information pertinent to drug therapy.
management programs and protocols based
upon analysis of epidemiologic and
pharmacoeconomic data, medication use
criteria, medication use review, and risk
reduction strategies.
ii.Communicate and collaborate with
prescribers, population members, care
givers, and other involved health care
providers to engender a team approach to
patient care.
iii. Retrieve, analyze, and interpret the
professional, lay, and scientific literature
to provide drug information to other health
care providers and to the public.
iv. Carry out duties in accordance with
legal, ethical, social, economic, and
professional guidelines.
v. Maintain professional competence by
identifying and analyzing emerging issues,
products, and services that may impact
population-based, therapeutic outcomes
2. Given information about an individual patient, the graduate can identify drug-related
problems as well as offer and justify alternative solutions.
3. Given information about a group or population, the graduate can analyze drug policies
(formulary decisions, practice guidelines) and assess the implications for the group’s health
status and use of resources (e.g., costs).
6. The graduate can develop, justify, and monitor pharmaceutical care plans.
3. Given information about a group or population, the graduate can analyze drug policies
(formulary decisions, practice guidelines) and assess the implications for the group’s health
status and use of resources (e.g., costs).
11. The graduate can demonstrate effective communication of ideas, information, and the
results of problem-solving activities (i.e., decisions) to colleagues, other health
professionals and patients.
3. Given information about a group or population, the graduate can analyze drug policies
(formulary decisions, practice guidelines) and assess the implications for the group’s health
status and use of resources (e.g., costs).
4. The graduate can evaluate clinical studies and analyze epidemiologic and demographic
data to reach appropriate conclusions regarding a variety of issues ranging from the
effectiveness of therapies to identifying areas of practice needs.
3. Given information about a group or population, the graduate can analyze drug policies
(formulary decisions, practice guidelines) and assess the implications for the group’s health
status and use of resources (e.g., costs).
21. The graduate can articulate a personal value system and ethical standards that will
guide their professional behavior and can ethically justify decisions or actions incongruent
with the APhA Code of Ethics for Pharmacists.
3. Given information about a group or population, the graduate can analyze drug policies
(formulary decisions, practice guidelines) and assess the implications for the group’s health
status and use of resources (e.g., costs).
8. Given a scientific question, the graduate can identify, analyze, and evaluate healthrelated, professional and disciplinary information resources.
9. Given a current issue facing the pharmacy profession, the graduate can outline a plan
which would promote necessary changes in the profession and explain how this would
affect the management of his/her career.
10. The graduate can explain the need for and benefits derived from systematic,
cumulative research on problems of theory and practice.
2. SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT Manage and use resources of the health care system, in cooperation with patients, prescribers, other health care
providers, and administrative and supportive personnel, to promote health; to provide, assess, and coordinate safe, accurate, and time-sensitive
medication distribution; and to improve therapeutic outcomes of medication use.
a. Manage human, physical, medical, informational, and technological resources.
i. Apply relevant legal, ethical, social,
7. Given a problem in managing (organizing, planning, directing and controlling) a
economic, and professional
pharmaceutical care system or and in using resources (human and financial), the graduate
principles/issues to assure efficient, costcan develop and justify alternative solutions.
effective utilization of human, physical,
15. Given a health policy issue, the graduate can assess its implications for access, quality,
medical, informational, and technological
and cost of health care and pharmacy services.
resources in the provision of patient care.
16. The graduate can explain the effects of societal and environmental factors on the
provision and receipt of pharmaceutical care services.
17. The graduate can explain the roles that pharmacists play in the health care system,
justify the value of their contributions and develop solutions for overcoming barriers facing
pharmacy practice.
21. The graduate can articulate a personal value system and ethical standards that will
guide their professional behavior and can ethically justify decisions or actions incongruent
with the APhA Code of Ethics for Pharmacists.
ii. Communicate and collaborate with
11. The graduate can demonstrate effective communication of ideas, information, and the
patients, prescribers, other health care
results of problem-solving activities (i.e., decisions) to colleagues, other health
providers, and administrative and
professionals and patients.
supportive personnel to engender a team
17. The graduate can explain the roles that pharmacists play in the health care system,
approach to assure efficient, cost-effective justify the value of their contributions and develop solutions for overcoming barriers facing
utilization of human, physical, medical,
pharmacy practice.
informational, and technological resources
in the provision of patient care.
iii. Carry out duties in accordance with
16. The graduate can explain the effects of societal and environmental factors on the
legal, ethical, social, economic, and
provision and receipt of pharmaceutical care services.
professional guidelines.
20. The graduate can explain the duties and responsibilities of a pharmacist to his/her
patients and apply these in every-day practice.
21. The graduate can articulate a personal value system and ethical standards that will
guide their professional behavior and can ethically justify decisions or actions incongruent
with the APhA Code of Ethics for Pharmacists.
iv. Maintain professional competence by
8. Given a scientific question, the graduate can identify, analyze, and evaluate healthidentifying and analyzing emerging issues, related, professional and disciplinary information resources.
products, and services that may impact
9. Given a current issue facing the pharmacy profession, the graduate can outline a plan
management of human, physical, medical, which would promote necessary changes in the profession and explain how this would
informational, and technological resources
in the provision of patient care.
b. Manage medication use systems.
i. Apply patient- and population-specific
data, quality assurance strategies, and
research processes to assure that
medication use systems minimize drug
misadventuring and optimize patient
outcomes.
ii. Apply patient- and population-specific
data, quality assurance strategies, and
research processes to develop drug use and
health policy, and to design pharmacy
benefits.
iii. Communicate and collaborate with
prescribers, patients, caregivers, other
involved health care providers and
administrative and supportive personnel to
identify and resolve medication use
problems.
affect the management of his/her career.
10. The graduate can explain the need for and benefits derived from systematic,
cumulative research on problems of theory and practice.
2. Given information about an individual patient, the graduate can identify drug-related
problems as well as offer and justify alternative solutions.
6. The graduate can develop, justify, and monitor pharmaceutical care plans.
7. Given a problem in managing (organizing, planning, directing and controlling) a
pharmaceutical care system or and in using resources (human and financial), the graduate
can develop and justify alternative solutions.
15. Given a health policy issue, the graduate can assess its implications for access, quality,
and cost of health care and pharmacy services.
1. Given information about an individual patient, the graduate can gather, organize,
analyze, and interpret data and information pertinent to drug therapy.
2. Given information about an individual patient, the graduate can identify drug-related
problems as well as offer and justify alternative solutions.
11. The graduate can demonstrate effective communication of ideas, information, and the
results of problem-solving activities (i.e., decisions) to colleagues, other health
professionals and patients.
iv. Carry out duties in accordance with
21. The graduate can articulate a personal value system and ethical standards that will
legal, ethical, social, economic, and
guide their professional behavior and can ethically justify decisions or actions incongruent
professional guidelines.
with the APhA Code of Ethics for Pharmacists.
v. Maintain professional competence by
8. Given a scientific question, the graduate can identify, analyze, and evaluate healthidentifying and analyzing emerging issues, related, professional and disciplinary information resources.
products, and services that may impact
9. Given a current issue facing the pharmacy profession, the graduate can outline a plan
medication use systems, to develop use and which would promote necessary changes in the profession and explain how this would
health policy, and to design pharmacy
affect the management of his/her career.
benefits.
10. The graduate can explain the need for and benefits derived from systematic,
cumulative research on problems of theory and practice.
15. Given a health policy issue, the graduate can assess its implications for access, quality,
and cost of health care and pharmacy services.
16. The graduate can explain the effects of societal and environmental factors on the
provision and receipt of pharmaceutical care services.
17. The graduate can explain the roles that pharmacists play in the health care system,
justify the value of their contributions and develop solutions for overcoming barriers facing
pharmacy practice.
3. PUBLIC HEALTH Promote health improvement, wellness, and disease prevention in cooperation with patients, communities, at-risk
populations, and other members of an interprofessional team of health care providers.
a. Assure the availability of effective, quality health and disease prevention services.
i.
Apply population-specific 3. Given information about a group or population, the graduate can analyze drug policies
(formulary decisions, practice guidelines) and assess the implications for the group’s health
data, quality assurance
status and use of resources (e.g., costs).
4. The graduate can evaluate clinical studies and analyze epidemiologic and demographic
strategies, and research
data to reach appropriate conclusions regarding a variety of issues ranging from the
processes to develop
effectiveness of therapies to identifying areas of practice needs.
identify and resolve public 5. The graduate can compare and contrast various scientific methods and can explain the
significance of their use in the discovery of knowledge.
health problems.
ii.
Communicate and collaborate with 3. Given information about a group or population, the graduate can analyze drug policies
prescribers, policy makers,
(formulary decisions, practice guidelines) and assess the implications for the group’s health
members of the community and
status and use of resources (e.g., costs).
other involved health care
12. The graduate can, as a responsible member of society, demonstrate effective
providers and administrative and
communication of health issues to other citizens.
supportive personnel to identify
15. Given a health policy issue, the graduate can assess its implications for access, quality,
and resolve public health
and cost of health care and pharmacy services.
problems.
16. The graduate can explain the effects of societal and environmental factors on the
provision and receipt of pharmaceutical care services.
17. The graduate can explain the roles that pharmacists play in the health care system,
justify the value of their contributions and develop solutions for overcoming barriers facing
pharmacy practice.
iii.
Carry out duties in accordance
16. The graduate can explain the effects of societal and environmental factors on the
with legal, ethical, social,
provision and receipt of pharmaceutical care services.
economic, and professional
20. The graduate can explain the duties and responsibilities of a pharmacist to his/her
guidelines.
patients and apply these in every-day practice.
21. The graduate can articulate a personal value system and ethical standards that will
guide their professional behavior and can ethically justify decisions or actions incongruent
with the APhA Code of Ethics for Pharmacists.
iv.
Maintain professional competence 3. Given information about a group or population, the graduate can analyze drug policies
by identifying and analyzing
(formulary decisions, practice guidelines) and assess the implications for the group’s health
emerging issues, products, and
status and use of resources (e.g., costs).
services that may affect the
efficacy or quality of disease
prevention services to amend
existing or develop additional
services
b. Develop public health policy.
i.
Apply population-specific data,
quality assurance strategies, and
research processes to develop
public health policy.
ii.
Communicate and collaborate
with prescribers, policy makers,
members of the community and
other involved health care
providers and administrative and
supportive personnel to develop
public policy.
iii.
Carry out duties in accordance
with legal, ethical, social,
economic, and professional
guidelines.
iv.
Maintain professional competence
by identifying and analyzing
emerging issues, products, and
services that may affect public
health policy, to amend existing or
develop additional policies.
15. Given a health policy issue, the graduate can assess its implications for access, quality,
and cost of health care and pharmacy services.
16. The graduate can explain the effects of societal and environmental factors on the
provision and receipt of pharmaceutical care services.
17. The graduate can explain the roles that pharmacists play in the health care system,
justify the value of their contributions and develop solutions for overcoming barriers facing
pharmacy practice.
3. Given information about a group or population, the graduate can analyze drug policies
(formulary decisions, practice guidelines) and assess the implications for the group’s health
status and use of resources (e.g., costs).
3. Given information about a group or population, the graduate can analyze drug policies
(formulary decisions, practice guidelines) and assess the implications for the group’s health
status and use of resources (e.g., costs).
12. The graduate can, as a responsible member of society, demonstrate effective
communication of health issues to other citizens.
16. The graduate can explain the effects of societal and environmental factors on the
provision and receipt of pharmaceutical care services.
20. The graduate can explain the duties and responsibilities of a pharmacist to his/her
patients and apply these in every-day practice.
21. The graduate can articulate a personal value system and ethical standards that will
guide their professional behavior and can ethically justify decisions or actions incongruent
with the APhA Code of Ethics for Pharmacists.
8. Given a scientific question, the graduate can identify, analyze, and evaluate healthrelated, professional and disciplinary information resources.
9. Given a current issue facing the pharmacy profession, the graduate can outline a plan
which would promote necessary changes in the profession and explain how this would
affect the management of his/her career.
10. The graduate can explain the need for and benefits derived from systematic,
cumulative research on problems of theory and practice.
15. Given a health policy issue, the graduate can assess its implications for access, quality,
and cost of health care and pharmacy services.
Appendix C: Steps for Creating Ability Outcomes

Make a list (brainstorm) of what you think is important in your course.

Review the list. See what goes together, what is repetitive, what can be combined, whether
one statement is a subset of another. Group them and create an outline.

Determine if what you expect your students to know from your course is related to what you
expect your students to be able to do, and vice versa.

See if you can distinguish in your list which statements pertain to knowledge, skills, or
attitudes/habits/values.

Try to integrate the objectives regarding knowledge, skills and attitudes into a statement
about ability outcomes. (Sometimes, you can determine your ability outcomes by asking why
you want your students to know or be able to do something.) Normally, two to four ability
outcomes are the most you might want to include in each course because there may not be
enough time for the practice opportunities and assessment feedback needed to develop each
ability.

Determine if general abilities (thinking, communication, ethical decision-making) are
sufficiently integrated with your professional goals.

Review your list to see if anything is missing. Often this process is heuristic, a mechanism
for discovering ideas you did not think of in the brainstorming stage. For instance, asking
“what attitudes” are needed for this ability may lead you to include material into the course
that you might not have otherwise, for instance a case analysis that raises issues relating to
empathy or fiduciary obligations to patients.

Relate your course outcome abilities to college or program outcome abilities, if they exist.
The course outcomes should breakdown the college/program outcomes. Rather than
repeating the college/program outcomes, course outcomes should be an adaptation of the
college/program outcomes relevant to the content and level of this particular course.

Clearly state the course ability outcomes on the syllabus so that students know exactly what
they must do to be successful in the course.
From Thomas D. Zlatic. Re-visioning Professional Education: An Orientation to Teaching. American College of Clinical Pharmacy, 2005.