(187) Reimagining Pharmacy Skills Lab: Implementation and Assessment of Multiple Attempt Practicals and Policy Violations

Objective : To evaluate students’ perceptions of two no-fail attempts (three attempts total) on practical skills assessments and the use of professionalism policy violations in a pharmacy skills lab sequence.

Methods: A pharmacy skills lab course sequence implemented changes, including two no-fail attempts on practical skills assessments and centering professionalism considerations within policy expectations and violations. The semester after implementation, a survey assessing students’ perceptions of these changes was distributed to first through third-year pharmacy students. The survey contained Likert-type and free-response questions related to practical attempts, policy violations, and stress. Questions related to stress were compared to students’ responses from previous cohorts. Descriptive statistics were completed, and proportions of responses (agreement vs. neutral and disagree) based on student year (Fisher's exact test) were completed.

Results: A total of 200 of 344 pharmacy students completed some or all survey aspects. Ninety-four percent of students agreed that having three attempts is preferred, that it reduced their stress (88%) and anxiety (85%), and allowed them to learn from their mistakes (95%). The majority of second and third-year students preferred the new policy violations structure over the former system (88%) and reported it reduced their stress (85%). There was no difference between classes on any of the survey items (p>.05). Compared to previous cohorts, more students felt the lab environment was a safe place to fail and allowed students to learn from their mistakes.

Conclusions: Implementation of two no-fail attempts on practical skills assessments and professionalism policy violations was preferred by the majority of students when compared to previous course components. Educators may consider this assessment approach to reduce student stress and create a safe space for skill development.