(379) A Dose of Reality – Assessing Entrustable Professional Activities in an Infectious Diseases Elective

Trainee Category: Student Pharmacist

Objective : To evaluate students’ level of trust in four entrustable professional activities (EPAs) through the simulation of infectious disease (ID) cases in a didactic ID elective course as assessed by external pharmacy evaluators.

Methods: Third-year pharmacy students were enrolled in a didactic ID elective and completed two cases throughout the semester-long course. Cases required students to interact (in groups of 3-4) daily with two ID pharmacists/residents across the country acting in the roles of either an ID attending physician or microbiology lab technician. Groups completed each case “in real time” and were tasked with providing appropriate evidence-based pharmacotherapy recommendations as more information became available (mimicking daily rounding experiences). Students presented formal presentations to the class at the end of their patient’s case. Students’ abilities to engage in four entrustable professional activities were evaluated in the form of a post-case survey distributed to the acting attending physicians and microbiology lab technicians assigned to each case. Four EPAs evaluated included: analyzing students’ ability to collaborate and communicate professionally on an interdisciplinary team, evaluating an existing drug therapy regimen, using evidence-based information to advance patient care, and implementing a care plan.

Results: Of 41 volunteer responses over two iterations of the course (85% response rate), 98% indicated they trusted students to communicate professionally in practice. Sixty-eight percent indicated their trust in the students’ ability to evaluate an existing drug therapy regimen and use evidence-based information to advance patient care. Sixty-six percent reported trust in students’ abilities to implement a care plan.

Conclusions: Engaging students in a real-time, simulated interprofessional case experience in an ID elective demonstrated students’ abilities to perform in four EPAs as assessed by external evaluators.