OPINIONS RELATING PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCES AND CURRICULAR NEEDS

Curriculum revision is a process involving assessment of practice need s and evaluation of the outcomes of the Processes by which the curricu lum imparts competence in activities that meet those needs. Such asses sments necessarily involve both subjective and objective assessments a nd interpretation. We designed and validated a survey instrument to me asure pharmacy externs' competence and confidence and administered the survey to all externs in one three-clerkship externship cycle. The pr ocess identified areas of weakness in communications skills and therap eutic knowledge, and revealed that externs lack confidence in hospital practice and clinical practice. The results of the study are being us ed to augment the present curriculum and to identify competencies to g uide educational objectives during our ongoing curriculum revision.