Utilization of a structured approach to patient-based pharmacotherapy notes in a therapeutics course to improve clinical documentation skills

Abstract Objective To evaluate the effect of utilizing a consistent structured approach to pharmacotherapy notes, the Subjective Objective Assessment Plan Education (SOAPE) note, early in the pharmacy curriculum to improve studentsʼ confidence and ability in appropriate clinical documentation skills in a required therapeutics course. Methods Over a three-year period, weekly patient-case sessions were incorporated into a six-week long therapeutics course for second-year student pharmacists. A pre-test and post-test assessing studentsʼ confidence and ability in preparation of SOAPE notes were administered at the beginning and end of the course. Perception of confidence was ranked on a 4-point Likert scale (4 = strongly agree, 1 = strongly disagree). Results A total of 373 (88.4%) students participated. There was significant improvement in studentsʼ confidence in writing SOAPE notes from the pre-test to post-test ( p p Conclusion A consistent structured approach to pharmacotherapy notes improved studentsʼ ability and confidence to perform this important documentation skill in a therapeutics course. This is a vital task for experiential rotations and in clinical practice.