Appraisal of the entrustable professional activities interprofessional team member domain performed by North Dakota pharmacists

• Main Authors: David M. Scott, Michael P. Kelsch, Anqing Zhang, Daniel L. Friesner
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Centro de Investigaciones y Publicaciones Farmaceuticas 2021-03-01
• Series: Pharmacy Practice
• Subjects: education pharmacy; schools pharmacy; curriculum; accreditation; patient care team; communication; interprofessional relations; pharmacies; patient care; pharmaceutical services; pharmacists; united states
• Online Access: https://www.pharmacypractice.org/journal/index.php/pp/article/view/2179
• ISSN: 1885-642X; 1886-3655

Objective: To quantify the use of the interprofessional team member (ITM) domain of entrustable professional activities (EPAs) by North Dakota pharmacists across practice sites, roles in practice, and by preceptor status. Methods: Survey methods were used to characterize the self-reported frequency with which pharmacists undertake core EPAs and supporting tasks in the ITM domain. The survey was administered to registered pharmacists practicing in North Dakota (n=990) during the fall of 2018, of which 457 (46.1%) responded. After eliminating responses with incomplete or missing information, 119 responses were available for analysis. Results: For the overall EPA ITM domain, “Collaborate as a member of an interprofessional team population” pharmacists reported performing these activities an average (mean) of 3.3 times per month (SD=2.3). Within this domain, the highest reported example activity was “Use setting appropriate communication skills when interacting with others” (mean=4.1, SD 1.8), followed by “Communicate a patient’s medication-related problem(s) to another health professional” (mean=3.3, SD 2.0), and “Contribute medication-related expertise to the team’s work” (mean=3.1, SD=2.2). ITM domain and supporting example activities were performed at a greater rate in hospitals, community health centers and long-term-care facilities. For most items, preceptors reported a greater use of activities, than did non-preceptors. Conclusions: North Dakota pharmacists currently complete tasks outlined in the ITM domain of the EPAs, although their contributions are varied by task, role, and preceptor status.