Development of a pharmacy capstone course from focus groups to advanced patient care

Objective. To describe the development of a capstone course using qualitative results of focus groups and to determine the impact of the course using a pre- and postcourse surveys.

Design. A course titled Advanced Patient Care was developed using themes emerged from 3 stakeholder focus groups and implemented with case-based sessions, interactive exercises, and Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs). Pre- and postcourse surveys were conducted to assess the students’ confidence and knowledge in managing 8 commonly-encountered conditions.

Assessment. During the 2-year course implementation, a total of 169 students participated in the preand postcourse surveys (87.6% response rate). The mean total confidence score increased significantly from 54.3 (±9.2) to 69.0 (±8.6, p<0.001), and the total mean knowledge score increased significantly from 6.3 to 6.9 (p<0.001).

Conclusion. The capstone course, fueled by focus group findings and implemented using interactive sessions and simulations, positively impacted students’ confidence and knowledge for clinical practice experiences and professional practice.