Australian pharmacy programme experiential placements: comprehensive planning for assessment and evaluation

Experiential placements are increasingly recognised as an essential component of university programmes, providing students with real‐world contexts to apply their knowledge and to develop practical skills and personal attributes. In Australia, professions such as pharmacy have traditionally developed experiential placement programmes within state and territory regulatory requirements and situations. The evolution of national competency and accreditation frameworks provide opportunities for collaborative approaches, including consideration of experiential placements. A research study was conducted in 2007 using Australian Government Carrick Institute funding to map experiential placements across Australian pharmacy programmes. Based on university interviews and programme mapping, consultations with over 250 participants and handbook analysis, various structures and approaches for university experiential placements were evident. In relation to learning and assessment tasks, some universities use some elements of planning process. In these, objectives are linked to pre‐placement preparatory and placement learning tasks and there are opportunities for student negotiation of assessment tasks and criteria. However, in relation to assessment and explicit criteria, links to the competencies of the profession and to more generic skills were generally vague. While student evaluations of experiential placement programmes were usually evident, a systematic evaluation process involving various stakeholders including transparent processes and feedback regarding the impact on future programme planning was not present. This study highlights the importance of comprehensive planning and scaffolding of learning related to competency and other outcomes, including relevant assessment tasks and explicit criteria based on graduated descriptors during experiential placements.