Educational Outcomes and EPAs

AACP Resource

The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) Curricular Outcomes and Entrustable Professional Activities (COEPA, pronounced COPA) 2022 document represents the fifth version (preceded by AACP Academic Affairs panels in 1994, 1998, 2004 and 2013) of the Center for the Advancement of Pharmacy Education (CAPE) educational outcomes (EO). EOs are statements that describe what a learner should be able to do at the end of a program.  EOs represent the knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSAs) of pharmacists that all students should demonstrate upon graduation The EOs were created to facilitate curricular discussions with faculty and preceptors within the Academy and to guide curriculum planning, delivery, and assessment within pharmacy programs.

The Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) 2022 document represents the second version. EPAs for new pharmacy graduates were originally established in 2016 by the AACP Academic Affairs Committee to translate the CAPE educational outcomes into practice activities. The EPAs describe the work of pharmacists as workplace tasks and responsibilities that all students are entrusted to do in the experiential setting with direct or distant supervision. It is important to note that EPAs are activities and are broad tasks or groups of tasks. These activities become the focus of an assessment when an individual is observed performing the activity. As such, preceptors assess the level of supervision a student needs to perform or execute the clinical activity/task using an entrustment decision scale.

Center for the Advancement of Pharmacy Education 2013 Educational Outcomes