Defining preceptorship: A job analysis to recognize the role of the pharmacy preceptor Jordan T. DeAngelis; Michael D. Wolcott Duke University Hospital - PGY1 - Durham, NC
Background/Purpose: Pharmacy preceptors perform a critical role in the clinical education and professional development of future pharmacists; but what exactly does being a preceptor mean? The literature surrounding preceptor development and performance offers a glimpse into the requirements of preceptors but there has been no attempt to articulate the roles and responsibilities more clearly. To address this question, we turn to job analyses as an effective and systematic group of methodologies to characterize the job preceptors perform.
Methodology: his quantitative descriptive study aims to describe the role of pharmacy preceptors utilizing a task inventory questionnaire. This purpose of the questionnaire is to offer a list of tasks expected within the job to those who work within the field. Respondents are asked to review the lists of tasks and evaluate the importance of each item as part of their job and subsequently identifies the critical responsibilities in the position. The questionnaire used for this study was designed in collaboration with pharmacy preceptors and based on expectations of preceptors reported in the literature. The questionnaire was distributed to a targeted group of pharmacy preceptors who have been nationally recognized by preceptor recognition programs coordinated by one of several professional pharmacy organizations. Descriptive statistics will be used to evaluate how combinations of importance, difficulty, and frequency establish the relative importance of each task item within the nine domains to categorize the tasks. These nine domains include: planning/logistics, communication, interpersonal, intrapersonal, clinical knowledge, assessment, teaching, leadership, and professionalism. Additionally, the questionnaire will be distributed to an equivalent number of student and resident learners to compare perceptions in the relative importance of pharmacy preceptor tasks.
Presentation Objective: To identify areas of focus for pharmacy preceptor development and performance evaluation.
Self-Assessment: What domains should preceptor development and performance evaluation focus on?
