Assessment of Student-Reported Preparedness in Leadership and Professional Service Management Post Capstone Course

OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to explore the effectiveness and utility of a newly introduced capstone course for developing leadership and management skills in pharmacy students. METHODS: A secondary analysis was conducted on precourse and postcourse questionnaire data collected from third-year doctoral-level students and their mentors. The frequency and mean scores of responses to statements regarding confidence in leadership, management, and collaboration skills scored on the Likert scale were presented. Open-ended comments from students and mentors were also grouped and summarized. RESULTS: For all questionnaire items related to the confidence self-assessment, the majority of students responded either agree (40%-69% per question) or strongly agree (6%-56% per question). Students also showed a significant increase in confidence in their management skills after completing the course. Student comments and feedback regarding the course were grouped into 3 major categories: content, timeline/organization, and group dynamics. CONCLUSION: Based on feedback from students and mentors, the capstone course is a valuable learning experience for pharmacy students and an effective tool for developing leadership, management, and collaboration skills. The value of in-person learning, engaged mentors, and real-world relevance for the capstone project is highlighted.