Association of Cocurricular Activities to ACPE Standard #3 Elements by Student-Reported Competencies

Objective

To assess the influence of required cocurricular activities on Accreditation Council of Pharmacy Education (ACPE) Standards 2016: Standard #3 Elements-Approach to Practice and Care competencies using year-end student surveys.

Methods

Year-end surveys of first year pharmacy (P1) to fourth pharmacy year (P4) students compared student self-assessments of their aptitude for each Center for the Advancement of Pharmacy Education 2013 outcomes in ACPE Standard #3 from a 3 year period when cocurricular activities were voluntary (volunteer period) and a 3 year period when a unique cocurricular activity was required each semester without academic credit (required period). A total of 294 unique cocurricular activities were offered during the required period. t tests and analysis of variance were used to compare responses across periods within each pharmacy year and academic year.

Results

During the volunteer period, 589 student survey responses were collected (81.7% response rate), compared to 433 (79.7%) engaging in cocurricular activities (required period). The mean age of the students in both periods was 24.1 years (SD 4.3), 61.0% were female, and 49.2% had prior degrees. Students participated in 283 distinct cocurricular activities. Student self-assessment across all Standard #3 elements improved each year. The aggregate improvement range across P1 to P4 years was 25.1% to 74.4% (p <.05 for each element). The most significant improvement was observed in Domain 3.1, Problem-Solving. The greatest increase occurred during the P1 year, followed by a leveling off across the third year pharmacy to P4 years.

Conclusion

Student-reported assessment indicates that providing required cocurricular opportunities across all professional years positively influences student perceptions of competency in ACPE Standard #3 Approach to Practice and Care Elements.