Students' perceptions of their preparation to provide pharmaceutical care

The purpose of this study was to examine the use of students' perceptions of their preparedness to perform (PREP) advanced pharmacy practice competencies for curricular assessment and improvement. College faculty developed and approved a set of professional competencies during the development of a new, Doctor of Pharmacy entry-level degree curriculum. Students' opinions regarding the degree to which the Doctor of Pharmacy curriculum prepared them to perform 41 pharmacy practice activities were solicited using survey methods. The 41 items were separated into five primary factors by factor analysis. Graduating students' perceptions improved over the four years of their educational experience. At the end of the same academic year, students further along in the professional curriculum generally felt more prepared than students in the beginning stages of their educational experience. Finally, students' perceptions generally improved where expected given the sequencing of the course content. Surveying students regarding their perceptions may be a useful tool in a College's continuous quality improvement program. Use of perceptions of preparation warrants further investigation.