Design, implementation, and assessment of an Integrated Pharmacy Applications course series

The McWhorter School of Pharmacy implemented a new curriculum in 2009 that sought to integrate information horizontally and vertically throughout the entire curriculum. A six-semester Integrated Pharmacy Applications (IPA) course series was designed to accomplish this. The objective of this article is to describe the design, implementation, and assessment of the integrated applications course sequence. Each semester of the didactic curriculum contains a one-credit-hour IPA course. The course has a weekly laboratory component and a two-hour time block on Fridays for discussion sessions. A framework for developing and facilitating sessions was created and provided to faculty. Example sessions include increasingly complex patient case discussion, technique demonstration, and simulations. Friday discussion sessions are designed to illustrate application of didactic course content to direct patient care. Students are charged a laboratory fee each semester to provide funds necessary to purchase supplies and equipment. The course series was implemented over a period of three years. An administrative position was created to oversee the series and ensure assessment of curricular integration efforts. Course topics are selected by this person in collaboration with faculty. Assessment of student performance in the course is formative and includes rubrics for direct observations, case notes, care plans, group work, and reflections. Course evaluations and student focus groups are used to obtain student feedback about the course. Deliberate planning and coordination of the IPA course series has fostered maximization of student learning, achievement of curricular integration, and compliance with accreditation standards.