Introduction: The process of entrustment where a provisionally registered (intern) pharmacist is gradually granted greater autonomy to practice is at the core of entrustable professional activities (EPAs). This study aims to explore the perceptions of intern and registered pharmacists on what factors influence the level of entrustment (and associated level of supervision) required of interns to perform different EPAs.
Methods: Registered and intern pharmacists in Australia were invited to participate in an anonymous online survey. Participants were asked to describe what factors they consider when making an entrustment determination for an intern for each of the three Australian Pharmacy Council EPAs: dispensing medicines, compounding products, and providing counselling. The free-text responses were analysed using an inductive approach coded by two independent researchers. Relevant codes, subthemes, themes were developed from the qualitative data, and supporting quotes were extracted to support the findings.
Results: A total of 215 responses were received. Three key themes were evident: intern’s competency and skill proficiency, intern’s growth orientation, and entrustment process dynamics. Participants noted that while knowledge and understanding are important factors in making entrustment decisions, humility and metacognition are equally as important as learners must be capable of guiding their own learning and self-reflecting on their performance in order to be able to practice autonomously. The entrustment process considers the stage of training, direct observation, and complexity of tasks, while trust propensity amongst preceptors is variable.
Conclusion: Entrustment of an intern pharmacist has multifaceted considerations that extend beyond the intern’s own knowledge and understanding. Entrustment in learners is the outcome of the capabilities of a learner, and evidence of a learner’s ability to practice with less supervision influences prospective entrustment decisions. It is not clear whether registered pharmacists’ trust propensity for intern pharmacists creates variability in entrustment decisions, which may impact an intern pharmacist’s development.

Introduction: Entrustable professional activities (EPAs) are a defined set of tasks that a learner is expected to perform unsupervised upon registration. Development of EPAs require a rigorous methodological process to ensure that the tasks accurately represent the profession and practice setting. While health disciplines have used different research approaches to develop EPA statements, a gap exists in understanding the considered factors when developing and implementing such statements. The aim is exploring the feasibility of adapting 15 EPA statements from the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) to define entry-level pharmacy practice in Qatar and identify facilitators and barriers to introducing EPA statements within experiential-education training.
Methods: Pharmacy faculty and experienced educators were recruited into focus group interviews to evaluate their perspectives on the feasibility of 15 EPA statements utilized by the AACP for use within Qatar entry-level pharmacy practice. Focus group interview questions were derived from the validated Quality of EPAs (QUEPA) rubric. Participants were asked to note their perspectives on facilitators and barriers to introducing EPAs in experiential-education settings.
Results: 23 participants participated across five focus group interviews. Four themes emerged from the focus group interviews: (1) Clarity and measurability of entry-level tasks, (2) Limitations and restrictions for implementation of EPAs, (3) Environmental facilitators (4) Environmental barriers. Participants commented on the applicability of AACP EPA statements in the Qatari pharmacy setting, and the opportunity to expand the profession’s scope.
Conclusion: The validated QUEPA rubric provided systematic means of exploring incorporation of EPA statements into a Qatari pharmacy setting. Participants noted that while many EPA statements are transferrable to the Qatari setting, certain local laws and regulations prevent the application of such statements in Qatar. Nonetheless, EPA development and adaptation provides an opportunity to expand the pharmacist scope of practice and re-evaluate the expected duties of new-graduate pharmacists.

Introduction: Preceptors play a vital role in the educational journey of health professionals. A preceptor is an experienced practitioner who supervises a preceptee, such as a student or intern, during clinical practice. In recent years the assessment of clinical competence and professional behaviours of preceptees has shifted from traditional written exams to Workplace-based assessment (WBA) a more authentic method of assessment . For WBAs to be a reliable, valid assessment, there needs to be quality assurance of pharmacy preceptors who have the responsibility for assessing students and interns. The aim of this study is to explore current preceptor assessment practices in pharmacy education and how the results are used by educational organisations.
Methods: An online survey was designed and deployed via Qualtrics to gather data from heads of pharmacy schools, placement coordinators, and intern training program managers. The survey was adapted from a previously published instrument to suit the Australian context. The survey aims to identify whether preceptor competency is assessed, who performs the assessments, and the barriers to implementing preceptor assessment processes. It contains items about preceptor assessment methods, frequency of assessments, and the use of assessment results.
Results: The survey results will describe current preceptor assessment practices among pharmacy education providers and intern training providers. We anticipate finding variability in assessment practices and a lack of formal quality assurance processes. We also anticipate educational organisations face barriers such as lack of resources and standardised assessment tools.
Conclusion: The study aims to uncover the need for standardised preceptor assessment practices in pharmacy education. Recommendations will be made to accreditation bodies to develop a quality assurance system for preceptors, ensuring consistent and reliable assessments. This will support the professional development of preceptors and enhance the quality of pharmacy education through effective WBAs.

Introduction: Workforce shortages remain problematic across all pharmacy sectors in Australia. To address this, one strategy is to recruit experienced pharmacists from overseas including the United Kingdom (UK) and New Zealand (NZ). The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) governs the registration standards for practice in Australia. UK pharmacists are assessed by AHPRA to undertake supervised practice hours and an oral exam for general registration. NZ registrations are mutually recognised without either requirement. Local health services determine workplace-based training needs. We reviewed feedback provided by pharmacists transitioning to Australian hospital practice to identify opportunities to further enhance our orientation program.
Methods: From January 2023 to present, twelve clinical pharmacists were recruited from the UK and NZ to a Victorian metropolitan tertiary referral hospital. All pharmacists received standard orientation to the service, which included completion of mandatory training, dispensary orientation, attendance at face-to-face orientation sessions and ward-based training completed by a senior pharmacist or dedicated clinical educator (where available). Written and verbal feedback responses were collated for continuous quality improvement.
Results: UK pharmacists remarked that the key challenges in transferring practice to Australia were exam preparation and administrative processes accompanying AHPRA registration. A suggestion was to consolidate resources to assist familiarisation with the Australian pharmacy legislation, including the Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme, Special Access Scheme and Real Time Prescription Monitoring. Both UK and NZ pharmacists highlighted variations to formulary and scope of practice. Their workflows required adjustments as they were accustomed to independent prescribing practices and advanced pharmacy technician roles.
Conclusion: Overseas trained pharmacists can be valuable assets to Australian hospitals and their training requires bespoke considerations. Tailoring their training may increase job satisfaction, confidence and potentially expedite time to independent practice. A mentoring system and a customised module on Australian legislation may help to support their hop and skip down under.