Assessment of Pharmacy Students’ Critical Thinking and Problem- Solving Abilities

Pharmacists must be competent in detecting and resolving drug-related problems to effectively provide pharmaceutical care. Little is known, however, about students’ problem-solving processes or their relationship to clinical decision-making. This paper reports the findings from 40 clerkship students who completed a computer program (CAP) developed to assess problem-solving skills, as well as various instruments to assess cognitive and learning styles as they relate to clinical decision-making. In addition, preceptors’ evaluations of students’ problem-solving skills were collected. Findings revealed similarities among students in temperament, learning styles, information-processing modes, problem-solving strategies, and criticalthinking strengths. Correlations of overall and individual problem-set CAP scores with the other instruments were weak. Although further study is needed, the cognitive instruments present a profile of pharmacy students which may be useful in modifying didactic, laboratory, and experiential components of pharmacy education to improve students’ abilities to identify and resolve clinical problems.