Development of a Pharmacy Capstone Course From Focus Groups to Advanced Patient Care

To describe the development of a capstone course using qualitative results of focus groups and to determine the impact of the course using a pre- and postcourse surveys.A course titled Advanced Patient Care was developed using themes emerged from 3 stakeholder focus groups and implemented with case-based sessions, interactive exercises, and Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs). Pre- and postcourse surveys were conducted to assess the students' confidence and knowledge in managing 8 commonly-encountered conditions.During the 2-year course implementation, a total of 169 students participated in the pre- and postcourse surveys (87.6% response rate). The mean total confidence score increased significantly from 54.3 (±9.2) to 69.0 (±8.6, p < 0.001), and the total mean knowledge score increased significantly from 6.3 to 6.9 (p < 0.001).The capstone course, fueled by focus group findings and implemented using interactive sessions and simulations, positively impacted students' confidence and knowledge for clinical practice experiences and professional practice.