Construction of a self-assessment tool for the readiness of pharmacy departments for internship teaching in public healthcare organizations-An Exploratory Mixed Study

Abstract Objectives: Internship in the pharmacy department of medical institutions is an important stage in the growth of pharmacy students. However, the level of internship teaching in pharmaceutical departments of medical institutions in China is not uniform at present, and there is a lack of corresponding readiness evaluation tools. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to construct a self-evaluation tool for the readiness of pharmacy departments in healthcare organizations and to evaluate the readiness of pharmacy departments in healthcare organizations in all aspects of internship teaching. Methods: This study was conducted using an exploratory mixed approach and was completed in two phases. In the first stage, qualitative research methods were used to conduct semi-structured interviews with hospital pharmacy interns and internship instructors, respectively, in the form of one-on-one or focus groups. The interview data were analyzed by using the theme analysis method to obtain a collection of self-evaluation indicators of internship and teaching readiness in the pharmacy department of public medical institutions. Then, on the basis of literature research, the first draft of the self-assessment tool for internship and teaching readiness in the pharmacy department of medical institutions was compiled. In the second stage, the Delphi method was used to screen the evaluation indexes, a self-evaluation tool for the readiness of the pharmacy department was constructed, and the experts were allowed to score the current status of the internship and teaching in the pharmacy department of medical institutions in China. Results: The qualitative research results of the first phase include 5 themes and 22 sub-themes, which serve as the source of indicators for self-assessment tools. In the second stage, the effective recovery rates of the two rounds of expert letters were 90.48% and 89.47% respectively, the expert authority coefficient was 0.779. The self-assessment tool for the readiness of pharmacy departments of healthcare institutions for teaching internships was constructed to include readiness for teaching internships' organization, readiness for teaching internships' content, readiness for teaching internships' modes, readiness for evaluating internships' effects, and readiness for emergency management of internships. The self-assessment tool includes 5 dimensions and 35 secondary indicators. The experts rated the preparedness of pharmacy departments of medical institutions in China in terms of preparedness for teaching internships differently. The score for the preparation degree of emergency management of internship teaching is the highest, the score for organizational structure and teaching content preparation of internship teaching is higher, while the score for the preparation degree of internship teaching mode and teaching effect evaluation is lower. Conclusion: The self-assessment tool of the readiness of pharmacy departments in medical institutions to teach internships is scientific and practical and provides a reference basis for the development of the internship teaching program of pharmacy departments in medical institutions.