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 pre- and 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.
['Lee|Jeannie Kim|JK|', 'Cooley|Janet H|JH|', 'Tanner|Natalee E|NE|', 'Hanauer|Courtney N|CN|', 'Schiefer|Danielle M|DM|', 'Herrier|Richard N|RN|']
D000293:Adolescent D000328:Adult D000368:Aged D003479:Curriculum D004512:Education, Pharmacy D005260:Female D017144:Focus Groups D006801:Humans D008297:Male D008875:Middle Aged D005791:Patient Care D010604:Pharmacy D013339:Students, Pharmacy D055815:Young Adult
Capstone course focus group survey pharmacy curriculum pharmacy student