Assessing student competency in compounding sterile preparations after instructional redesign

Introduction In 2023, United States Pharmacopeia updated its <797> standards for sterile compounding preparation. To ensure students received instruction on the most up-to-date content related to the standards, a sterile compounding course was redesigned to include additional assessment of student pharmacist competency to facilitate participation in a summer introductory pharmacy practice experience. A re-designed curriculum incorporating the new requirements led to a reduction in the number of hands-on practice opportunities in compounding sterile preparations for student pharmacists. This study evaluated if there was an association between reduced hands-on practice and student performance on a standardized sterile compounding assessment. Methods A retrospective, cross-sectional analysis compared assessment scores across three cohorts (2022, 2023, and 2024). Performance was evaluated using a standardized sterile compounding preparation rubric assessing 38 skill-based competency items. The cohorts included a pre-redesign (2022) and a post-redesign (2024) curriculum; the 2023 cohort, which did not use the redesigned curriculum, served as an unintentional comparison because weather-related cancellations reduced the number of practice opportunities. Results A total of 163 student assessments over three years were conducted (61 in 2022, 61 in 2023, and 41 in 2024). The pre-redesign cohort (Spring 2022) scored higher on the standardized assessment than did cohorts with fewer hands-on practice sessions (Spring 2023 and Spring 2024). Secondary analysis also found lowered assessment in four specific clinical procedure areas in the 2023 and 2024 cohorts. Conclusion Curricular changes reducing the number of practice sessions for compounding sterile preparations were associated with lower performance on a skills-based assessment rubric, suggesting the need to maintain sufficient hands-on practice to help student pharmacists develop technical skills for sterile compounding.