Sterile Compounding Knowledge, Skills and Confidence Among Graduating Pharmacy Students

Objective. The primary objective of this study was to determine if the exposure to sterile compounding in the pharmacy curriculum produces pharmacy graduates who are both competent and confident in the area of sterile compounding. Our secondary objective was to identify additional variables that may predict student performance. Methods. Participants were recruited from the fourth-year College of Pharmacy class of 2018. The students were asked to complete a questionnaire assessing the following domains: demographics, compounding performance confidence, prior experience and theoretical knowledge. A written assessment was followed by a faculty-evaluated practicum in which the students were required to prepare two sterile products using a standardized rubric. Results were analyzed with a student t-test and linear regression to determine differences in performance based upon prior experience, confidence and theoretical knowledge. Results. Overall the 158 students performed well on the knowledge and skill examination, with an average total score of 89.8%. Of the 158 total participants, the 122 survey respondents had an overall mean confidence score of 2.9 on a four point Likert scale, with 40.2% of students scoring in the confident (3) or very confident (4) range of the survey. In our analysis, we found that neither prior compounding experience or self-rated confidence were predictive of students’ total score. Conclusion. Our results indicate that the inclusion of sterile compounding education and training in all four years of the pharmacy curriculum produces graduates who are competent with varying levels of confidence in the area of sterile compounding.