In the 6-year pharmacy education program,long-term training in clinical practice based on the Model Core Curriculum for Practical Training will start in 2010.Though the objectives and strategies for clinical practice are shown specifically in the Model Core Curriculum for Practical Training,the plan for evaluation procedures proposed by the Pharmaceutical Society of Japan in November 2006 has yet to be adopted.With this in mind,in the present study,we devised assessment tools for each specific behavioral objective (SBO) for such areas as knowledge,skills and attitude,based on the examples in the plan of the Pharmaceutical Society of Japan,and used them in the evaluation of a 4-week training course in clinical practice.
Six fourth-year students from Shujitsu University were subjected to the evaluation.They were divided into 3 groups of 2 students and underwent the 4-week course of practical training at Kaiei Pharmacy which is operated by the Okayama Pharmaceutical Association.
Assessment tools such as oral interviews,essays,practical tests,reports,observation records,simulations and objective tests were provided for 87 SBOs and 80% of the assessment tools were in accordance with the content of the Pharmaceutical Society of Japan’s plan.We found that about 90% of the content of the Model Core Curriculum for Practical Training could be evaluated within 4 weeks using these assessment tools and they verified that uniform,high-quality clinical training was provided to all 3 groups.In conclusion,our findings indicate that such assessment tools would be essential for ensuring uniform and high-quality training in clinical practice in the 6-year pharmacy education program.
