Collaborative development of an online pharmacy experiential learning database

Academics preparing students for experiential placements within professional programs require considerable curriculum planning and pedagogical expertise. Communities of practice involving workshops and online processes provide opportunities for collaborative work in developing quality curriculum materials and also in supporting widespread dissemination. The aim of an Australian Learning and Teaching Council funded project was to collaboratively establish an online repository of tasks and other associated resources. These tasks were intended for potential inclusion in the suite of activities that could be required to be completed in a pharmacy experiential clinical placement. An educational template and website were initially created, with over 90 academics and other industry partners subsequently attending a series of workshops to share ideas and develop the online materials. Online surveys regarding the tasks, written feedback concerning workshop processes and interviews were conducted as part of the ongoing evaluation processes to ascertain the effectiveness of the tasks and processes and to inform future directions. Workshops and follow up processes resulted in publication of twenty eight tasks, positive responses to the materials and to the collaborative processes

Nurturing a cross-institutional curriculum planning community of practice

This paper focuses on academic skill-building through using cross-institutional collaborative approaches in developing quality learning and assessment tasks for experiential placements. A curriculum planning template was used for the collaborative work, with materials developed being disseminated on a specially designed online repository website. Results, analyzed within a community of practice framework, indicate the activities. There is potential evident for building a more mature community of practice given the value of the collaborative learning process involved. This would need additional opportunities and leadership over an extended timeline. Some longer term changes in curriculum planning and impacts on wider networks are also evident. This case study provides a model which is relevant across all disciplines and which highlights professional learning occurring through collaborative academic work focused on relevant practice

Academic Professional development for quality experimental placements: Using National collaborative approached for creating online respository tasks

Background: A commitment to quality teaching and student learning outcomes is an increasing expectation in Australian higher education institutions. In preparing for experiential placements, partnership approaches among discipline - specific academic, practitioner and professional communities are important. A key challenge is the development of academics working within professional preparatory programs and ensuring that they are continuously updated in discipline - specific aspects and also up-skilled in curriculum planning, learning and assessment approaches. Research has highlighted the ineffectiveness of professional development models involving one-off events. Alternatively, collaborative workshop activities focused on practical materials relevant to student learning and conducted over an extended timeframe and within a community of practice can promote long-term change in learning and assessment strategies. Aim: Within an Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) funded project, a key aim was to establish national collaborative professional development workshops for academics and interested others focused on devising quality learning and assessment tasks for pharmacy experiential placements and to gauge effectiveness. Method: During a fifteen-month period, a series of workshops was established within annual professional conferences. Academics and professional/registration board representatives worked together on various topics to develop learning and assessment tasks using an online template. After the workshops, follow-up occurred through assigned group leaders liaising with other group members to finalise the tasks. A quality assurance process was used by the project team prior to publication of tasks. Evaluation of the collaborative professional learning process was undertaken through written surveys involving 5 point Likert scale survey items and free response questions. Semi-structured interviews were conducted by an external interviewer, with manual collation of results and thematic analysis occurring

Building Critical Reflection Skills for Lifelong Learning in the Emergent Landscape of a National Registration and Accreditation Scheme

In 2010 many of the health disciplines in Australia will be involved in national registration and accreditation, to ensure a more sustainable and flexible health workforce for the future. To this end, in each of the health professions, there is an increasing emphasis on reflective practice and lifelong learning to maintain practice competency. This research focuses on academic teaching and learning in the Pharmacy undergraduate curriculum to develop an indicator tool of graduate practice skills before the student enters the practice internship year. The Graduated Descriptors Competency Tool was developed by means of state, territory, and national stakeholder collaboration. The aim of the project was to assist the scaffolding processes around undergraduate practice teaching and learning. Students on experiential placements have used the tool to demonstrate their current practice skills and the learning required to attain competency during their internship year. Students are guided to develop critical reflection skills for deep understanding and insight into the continued learning and professional development required to maintain long-term health care expertise

Support needed by pharmacy students in experiential placements: Stakeholders’ expectations

Background: From July 2010, Australian state and territory pharmacy registration boards will be replaced by a national body that will register health professionals and also accredit university pharmacy programs. Traditionally, assessment during the pharmacy internship year and national examination provide consistency at the post-graduation stages, but the endpoints of university programs have been derived within state and territory contexts. Aim: To determine the skills needed to gain competence within university pharmacy programs; and to identify the levels of support required by early and late placement students. Method: Students, academics and professional/ registration/preceptors were involved in state and territory focus groups. 140 participants completed a chart about their expectations regarding levels of supervising preceptor support required by students during experiential placements. Manual collation and comparative analysis was undertaken for early and late placement students. Results: Early placement students were consistently viewed by all stakeholder groups as needing assistance or minimal assistance. For late placement students, there were wide variations in responses in regard to levels of support expectations for competency functional areas and within and across state and territory groups, especially among academics from various institutions. Conclusion: There is variability across states and territories with respect to competency development in academic programs. This may present challenges within a national accreditation and registration context

Involving students in research decision making: Developing a competency graduated descriptors tool

As an outcome of reorganisation within the Australian health sector to establish national, rather than state and territory, registration boards, many in the higher education sector are re-examining their role in building student knowledge and skills within competency frameworks. In regard to pharmacy education and experiential placements, Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) funded research during 2008–2010 has involved stakeholder consultations to identify competency graduated descriptors, with students as a key group. The importance of involving stakeholders in all stages of research processes from inception to results dissemination is highlighted in the literature. Researchers emphasise the 'knowledge use' dissemination model, which involves stakeholders in decision-making, including the use of extended workshops and follow-up action. In making decisions about higher education learning and assessment directions, evaluating differing stakeholder perspectives and valuing student ideas is an under-researched area. This paper reports on the processes involved in the development of the competency graduated descriptors tool including highlighting the role that students have played in various aspects of decision-making, including the competency graduated descriptor tool eventually developed. While some research and consultative work pays 'lip service' to or seeks to marginalise student responses, in this project the contribution of students has been foregrounded at all stages of the research process. This paper provides a model of a collaborative approach and has application across health education research and for other discipline areas in terms of working with practitioners and students in developing practically based materials to support improved learning outcomes