Creating an Initial Framework for the Longitudinal Assessment of Domain 4 Attributes

The assessment of Domain 4 (D4) characteristics is inherently challenging as there exist numerous dimensions to personal and professional development. This maturation tends to occur in the interstices of the formal pharmacy curriculum, and cannot be easily captured. The WSoP has implemented a plan to address these challenges by assembling a D4 Assessment Battery, which includes measures of emotional intelligence, empathy, communication, moral reasoning, and professionalism. At orientation, P1 students also submit a 60-second video presentation that is reviewed by faculty. The Battery takes only 45 minutes to complete yet yields nearly 1,000 data points per student. Results from the Battery have been psychometrically analyzed transformed into standard scores to allow for the meaningful comparisons between measures, and results have been locally-normed to facilitate programmatic evaluation through benchmarking. The Battery is being administered at orientation (Baseline), at the beginning of the P2 and P3 years, at the end of the P3 year, and at graduation (Exit). Results from the Battery are conveyed to the student’s academic advisor (via Tk20), and simultaneously mapped to WSoP and CAPE outcomes. In Fall 2017, the WSoP will be deploying dispositional assessments to continuously assess D4 development, using a professionalism rubric that conveys results directly to academic advisors. By “anchoring” D4 assessment results through psychometric techniques, it will be possible to gauge individual student growth in D4 areas, as well as yielding data that can be used to evaluate current and future training and advising opportunities