Development of Entrustable Professional Activities for Training of Hospice and Palliative Care Pharmacists (SCI961)

• Published in: Journal of pain and symptom management 2021-03, Vol.61 (3), p.702-703
• Main Authors: Lockman, Kashelle, Lowry, Maria, Discala, Sandra, Uritsky, Tanya, Lovell, Amanda, Kematick, Benjamin, Schmidt, Michelle, Wetshtein, Andrea, Scullion, Bridget, Herndon, Christopher, Atayee, Rabia
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Certification; Clinical outcomes; Competence; Consensus building; Drug stores; Health status; Interdisciplinary aspects; Palliative care; Pandemics; Pharmacists; Pharmacy
• ISSN: 0885-3924; 1873-6513
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2021.01.121

Objectives 1. Compare and contrast HAPC Pharmacist EPAs with EPAs and competencies of other interprofessional HAPC team members and non-HAPC specialist pharmacists. 2. List 3 tools to facilitate multi-centered research during a pandemic. Background Pharmacists with specialized training in hospice and palliative care (HAPC) improve outcomes for patients and health systems. Given the absence of board certification for and the diverse training of HAPC pharmacists, entrustable professional activities (EPAs) would be useful in distinguishing the roles and responsibilities of pharmacists specializing in HAPC. EPAs are used to describe the roles and work of HAPC physicians. EPAs translate competencies into explicit, practical terms that clearly state the expected roles and responsibilities of clinicians who have achieved and integrated multiple competencies in a specialty. Research Objectives Develop consensus EPAs for HAPC specialist pharmacists. Methods A workgroup of 10 pharmacists, representing diverse, national training and HAPC practice settings, was selected to develop HAPC pharmacists EPAs through an iterative, facilitated process. The workgroup used nominal group and modified Delphi methods to create and refine EPA statements through 4 consensus-building rounds. Interprofessional HAPC team members and additional pharmacy stakeholder groups provided feedback on the draft EPAs. This research was supported by Cambia Health Foundation. Results Round 1 yielded 113 draft EPA statements. Round 2 identified 45 statements that were deemed specific, assignable, and observable. At the end of round three, 14 draft statements achieved consensus to be essential entrustable activities for HAPC specialist pharmacists. These were further peer-reviewed and refined in round 4. Eleven EPAs achieved ≥ 80% consensus as essential when reviewed by an interprofessional panel representing 6 HAPC disciplines. The remaining 3 EPAs were deemed essential by 50% of the interprofessional reviewers. Conclusion Fourteen EPAs describe the essential activities of HAPC specialist pharmacists. Implications for Research, Policy, or Practice HAPC specialist pharmacist EPAs will inform HAPC teams about expectations of pharmacist team members, regardless of an individual pharmacist's training path. Supporting competency statements may clarify EPAs for interprofessional HAPC team members. EPAs can also inform and ensure consistency across diverse HAPC education, training, and certification progra