Pharmacy Students’ Perceptions of and Attitudes Towards Peer Assessment Within a Drug Literature Evaluation Course

Objective. To assess pharmacy students’ perceptions of and attitudes towards the use of peer assessment within a drug literature evaluation course. Methods. A 15-item, electronic survey instrument was sent to 158 second-year pharmacy students enrolled in a 2-credit required literature evaluation course at the Purdue University College of Pharmacy. Results. One hundred fifty-two (96.2%) responses were received. Approximately 95% of students agreed that they had the necessary skills to assess their peers and 91.8% agreed that their peers possessed these skills as well. More students agreed they were comfortable receiving feedback from peers (95.7%) than agreed they were comfortable providing feedback to peers (80%). The majority of students (91.9%) agreed that peer assessment was a skill they will use in their career as a pharmacist. Conclusion. Students were more comfortable receiving feedback from peers than providing peer assessment. This skill is used by pharmacists throughout their career; therefore, students should become familiar and comfortable with the peer assessment process.