Survey of prior learning assessment practices in pharmacy education

American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, Spring 2001 by Fjortoft, Nancy F, Zgarrick, David P

Faculty Exams. Examinations developed by faculty may be tailor-made to match the objectives of specific courses. They can be administered frequently and can be scheduled to accommodate students' needs. They can be easily updated and revised. However, faculty developed exams are resource intensive. Many schools noted that they had policies and procedures for PLA via faculty developed exams, but have not yet developed any exams. In addition, another disadvantage to this method is the reliability and validity of the exam may be difficult to assess due to low numbers of test takers.

Transcript Review. The method of assessing prior learning via transcript review is relatively easy and takes little faculty time. However, it is difficult to gauge whether or not the course taken previously is a good match to the specific NTPD course. Transcript review is limited to traditional academic institutions.

Nonacademic Course Review. Nonacademic courses may be easily accessible and available to the student, there may be minimal cost involved, and they require little or no faculty resources. On the other had, it is difficult to monitor the quality of nonacademic courses, and the outcomes may not match required academic courses.

CONCLUSION

An area we see underutilized in PLA in pharmacy education is the use of commercially available exams and certification. The Board of Pharmaceutical Specialties (BPS) has developed several exams, which result in certification that have been widely accepted by the profession and are psychometrically valid and reliable. Several programs use board certification in pharmacotherapy for advanced standing in therapeutics course(s). However, no program reported use of the other board certification exams such as psychiatry, oncology, and nutrition. These exams could potentially match specific course objectives at individual programs. In addition to BPS, the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) has also developed exams to assess practice competencies. NTPD programs could take advantage of the resources available in pharmacy organizations and associations and utilize these new and established examinations and certifications.

Another area that we see underutilized is nonacademic courses (continuing education courses and corporate training). We expect that the new ACPE guidelines for certificate courses will increase the rigor and intensity of CE certificate courses, which potentially could match some NTPD course requirements. Several pharmacy associations such as the American Pharmacists Association, the American Society of HealthSystems Pharmacists, and the National Community Pharmacists Association have developed rigorous continuing education courses. It seems reasonable that some goals and objectives of CE courses could potentially match NTPD courses.

While PLA is being practiced in pharmacy and has potential for increased use, PLA has its disadvantages. Students who use PLA may be missing valuable learning opportunities. Portfolios, because of their heavy reliance on excellent writing and organization skills may disadvantage some groups of students. In a recent article, Larry Seid questioned whether or not the essay format of portfolios is the best measurement of experiential learning when specific competencies are to be addressed. He suggests that a more structured assessment model could increase access to the PLA portfolio process of students who did not possess good writing skills(23). Faculty may question the reliability and validity of various PLA mechanisms. Clearly, PLA is not a perfect solution, but educators need to weigh the advantages against the disadvantages.