A discussion of pharmaceutical curriculum design to meet the competency needs of professional pharmacists looks at the nature of competency, anticipates some of the demands of such a curriculum, describes some methods of organizing curriculum elements, and provides a brief bibliography. (MSE)

Competency Based Education (CBE) is reviewed. Competence is defined as a complex network of knowledge, performance, and attitudes. Methods for competency identification and validation are reviewed, and assessment at all learning levels is emphasized. (Author/MLW)

A seven-phase test development and validation process based on nuclear pharmacy practice standards is described, including: amplication of behaviors in the practice standards, development of examination specifications, item writing and review, a demonstration test, setting the cutting score, and final editing and assembly. (MSE)

Entry level and senior students given identical pharmacy law units were compared and effects of prior internship and externship experience assessed. Seniors' achievement gain was greater, but prior practical experience showed little effect on achievement. Retention was statistically significant for sophomores 9 to 12 months post-instruction, and…

Advantages and disadvantages of commonly used forms of measurement are reviewed, and an approach for assessing overall competence of the pharmacy student is discussed conceptually, based on a multiple-measurement method involving review of student performance in real practice contexts and observation in simulations of practice. (Author/LBH)

Development of validated terminal performance objectives for provision of oral health in a pharmacy curriculum is described. Following a systems approach to instructional development, an interdisciplinary committee set instructional goals, then wrote performance objectives of sufficient scope and rigor to be useful for design of didactic courses…

The profession of pharmacy is not yet prepared to certify mid-career competence with valid and reliable methods of performance assessment. Rather than forcing reliance on current cognitive assessment measures, professional and public attention and support should be directed to the development of higher-order performance assessment instruments.…

The development of a national, standardized federal drug law examination is described, including its purpose, content, reliability, overall performance, and scoring method. Candidate performance for 3 years is reported, with variance by state, school, etc. (Author/MSE)

Seventeen behaviorally-anchored rating scales were developed for a comprehensive measure of performance in pharmacy practice, including pharmacist selection, performance appraisal, and promotion activities. The scales (which are included) were also used to evaluate extern performance, and to serve as a criterion measure in studies of concurrent…

To determine if, as the result of a pharmacy continuing education program on professional liability, the behavior of participants would persist for eight months, a study was undertaken that measured three learning outcomes: knowledge of concepts; attitudes about professional standards and their relationship to malpractice; and self-reports of…

Design of a rating scale for pharmacy students' evaluation of instruction, differing from others in its incorporation of 10 dimensions of teaching unique to pharmacy education, is described. Two potential uses of the scale are use of the teaching dimensions in numerical scales, and scale use for providing teacher feedback. (Author/MSE)