Introduction: This study evaluates two pharmacy student placement programs conducted in 2024 at Hospital A and Hospital B. The focus is on assessing the effectiveness of hands-on versus observational learning experiences in enhancing pharmacy students' skills and career interests.
Methods: In the Hospital A placement, students were assigned one preceptor and engaged in a hands-on component complemented by digital resources, including electronic medication management system logins. This setup allowed students to practice medication history-taking under appropriate supervision, following Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs). In contrast, the Hospital B placement was observational, designed to expose students to a variety of hospital pharmacist roles and environments. A post-placement survey was administered to 26 students to gather feedback on skill acquisition, clinical knowledge, and perceptions of hospital pharmacy roles.
Results: Students at Hospital A reported significant improvements in their medication history-taking skills and clinical knowledge, largely due to hands-on practice with EPAs. Most participants expressed increased interest in pursuing careers in hospital pharmacy and indicated a willingness to apply for internships at the hospital. In contrast, students in the observational program at Hospital B noted limited skill development due to the lack of direct clinical activities, although they valued the exposure to hospital operations.
Conclusion: The findings highlight the importance of active learning through EPAs in enhancing practical skills and fostering career interest among pharmacy students. The study suggests that hands-on experiences are more effective than observational placements in promoting skill acquisition and engagement in hospital pharmacy careers.

Introduction
The Medicines-Related Consultation Assessment Tool (MR-CAT) is a validated tool used to assess pharmacists’ consultations through direct observation. Many community pharmacists work in isolation and struggle to find colleagues for assessment, making self-assessment a practical alternative. This study aimed to explore the acceptability and feasibility of using the MR-CAT for self-assessment in community pharmacy.
Method
Newly qualified pharmacists and education supervisors (ES) on a post-registration programme in England were invited to participate in semi-structured online interviews. Participants were required to have experience of using the MR-CAT for self-assessment. Anonymised transcripts were analysed thematically. Eight ES were interviewed; pharmacist data is currently unavailable due to recruitment challenges.
Results
ES reported the MR-CAT self-assessment as clearly structured, helping users understand consultation standards and enabling effective self-assessment. The focus on practice levels rather than pass/fail was perceived as a supportive way to explore current practice. ES emphasised reflecting on strengths as well as areas for improvement, embedding reflective practice in early careers and promoted ongoing use rather than a one-off. MR-CAT offers a structured way to reflect amid busy pharmacy work, should be completed soon after consultations to keep reflections relevant, and is integrated into support meetings by supervisors. Guided reflection alongside self-assessment was perceived to add value.
Conclusion
ES view MR-CAT as an acceptable, non-judgmental self-assessment tool that helps pharmacists reflect on strengths and areas for development, promoting active learning and early career growth. ES integrate discussions into support meetings, showing the MR-CAT fits busy, isolated pharmacy settings.
The data reflects ES perspectives based on their support of pharmacists who have completed the MR-CAT self-assessment. However, direct insight into pharmacists’ experiences is currently limited. Perspectives from pharmacists’ interviews are essential to fully evaluate MR-CAT’s acceptability and feasibility as a self-assessment tool.

Introduction: Clinical pharmacists at Auckland City Hospital undertake eight key clinical activities as part of their role e.g. medicines reconciliation, patient counselling. Intern (preregistration) pharmacists, and pharmacists new to the department, must demonstrate that they can complete these activities to a set standard. Interns were assessed using the same four-point scale as the national intern training programme (not yet competent /borderline /competent /competent with merit). Pharmacists new to the department were assessed during their induction as competent or not competent. Both scales lacked clear definition and were open to interpretation between supervisors. We aimed to introduce a more robust tool to define and standardise assessments.
Method: In 2021, following a review of the literature, we introduced the five-point assessment scale associated with Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) for the eight clinical activities. Level 3 of the scale was expanded to 3a – c for interns, to reflect the nuanced stages of their progress towards level 4 by the end of the year. Registered pharmacists must achieve level 4 before working unsupervised on the wards. An online survey was utilised to elicit feedback from staff on useability and acceptability.
Results: Feedback indicates staff find the entrustment scale easy to understand and use. It provides a more informative evaluation of intern’s progress across the year and allows gaps to be addressed in a timely manner. For pharmacists new to the department who achieve level 4, it provides assurance to the service and to themselves, that they have the skills to work independently. The scale provides a clear description of a learner’s level of independence, making it easier for new supervisors to provide support at the appropriate time.
Conclusion: Entrustment decision scales in the workplace are acceptable to assessors; support intern and new pharmacist development; and provide quality assurance of pharmacy service delivery.

Introduction: Entrustment-supervision scales (ES), used to assess Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs), have been widely adopted in healthcare education. However, inconsistencies persist in making entrustment decisions among assessors. This may be partly due to limited understanding of entrustment and a lack of overt language of trust within ES. Therefore, the authors aimed to develop and validate an ES that integrates the concepts and language of trust.
Methods: In collaboration with a linguistic expert, subject matter experts in competency-based education developed an ES integrating trust-related concepts and language. Pharmacists with over two years’ experience with workplace-based assessment (WBA) were invited to participate in a two-round validation survey. Participants rated scale descriptions on a 1-4 scale of clarity and comprehension and provided narrative feedback, which informed refinements after each round. A scale face validity index (s-FVI) was calculated with an acceptance threshold set at a minimum s-FVI of 0.83.
Results: In 2024, 13 pharmacists (community n=1; hospital n=5; academia n=7) with a mean 9.15 (SD=7.63) years’ experience with WBA completed the validation survey. The initial survey round resulted in a s-FVI of 0.39. Narrative feedback from round one, focusing on concern of the use of the words “loved ones” and the definition of proximity of supervision, was used to refine the ES. In the second round, ten of the original 13 participants responded and a satisfactory s-FVI score (0.88) was achieved. The narrative feedback from the second round suggested that the refined scale was “clear and logical,” further validating the s-FVI.
Conclusion: An ES integrating trust-related concepts and language was developed, refined and validated, potentially easing challenges associated with making entrustment decisions for EPAs. Future research will investigate whether the revised ES improves EPA assessment consistency.

Introduction: Professionalism in pharmacy encompasses a spectrum of dispositions and behaviours, such as punctuality, accountability, appropriate communication, serving the community with respect, honesty, and compassion. However, assessing professionalism is complex due to its multifaceted nature. Clear expectations and effective tools are necessary to foster professionalism in pharmacy education. The aim of this presentation is to shed light on the shady concept of professionalism for pharmacy educators.
Methods: We used a definition of professionalism to perform a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis on an existing rubric. This rubric was used to evaluate students’ written reflections of professionalism during their clinical placements. Results of the SWOT analysis were used to construct a framework for teaching and assessing professionalism in pharmacy.
Results: Strengths of the existing rubric included that it invited students to reflect broadly on their clinical placement experiences, allowing students to select and highlight relevant instances of professionalism. Weaknesses involved students not making connections to professionalism in their reflections, and the large variation in features of professionalism that were reported. Opportunities included altering the guidance to students about the assignment by featuring a definition of professionalism. Threats included the placement setting, which may limit the features of professionalism that students experienced. The constructed framework features four dimensions, representing how a pharmacist behaves, how they relate to others, how they improve themselves, and how they engage with the profession and beyond.
Conclusion: We shed light on the shady concept of professionalism by identifying four dimensions of professionalism that can be taught and assessed. Pharmacy educators can use this framework to evaluate the rubrics they use to assess professionalism and adapt them to different contexts. Further research and iterative refinement of these materials will enhance their relevance and effectiveness in fostering professionalism in pharmacy education.