Volume 4 Issue 1

August 2025

Introducing the New APPE Evaluation Form: A Focus on Entrustable Professional Activities

We’re excited to share that the Ohio experiential education consortium has collaboratively developed and adopted a new APPE evaluation form that centers on Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) as the foundation for assessing student performance. This updated form represents a meaningful shift in how we evaluate pharmacy students on their advanced practice experiences—moving away from abstract grading metrics toward a practical, real-world framework that asks, “Can the student do the thing?”

EPAs offer a structured and intuitive way to evaluate student readiness for practice by focusing on the specific tasks that pharmacists are expected to perform. Rather than deliberating on whether a student deserves an "A" or a "B," preceptors are now empowered to assess whether the student can be entrusted to independently perform key professional responsibilities. This approach not only aligns with national conversations on competency-based education but also provides a more consistent, transparent, and clinically relevant way to support learner growth.

Some of you have already started using this new form, and your early feedback has been instrumental in refining its use. Under this model, a student is considered to have earned a passing designation if their averaged scores across the final evaluation sections are greater than or equal to 2.5. A failing designation is assigned if the student's average score on the final evaluation is below 2.5 or if they receive a rating of 1 in any category—highlighting critical performance gaps that must be addressed through remedial processes. In recognition of exceptional performance, preceptors now also have the option to nominate students for an honors designation through this form, allowing standout learners to be acknowledged for their excellence in patient care, professionalism, and initiative.

2025 RECIPIENT

Liz was one of the most outstanding preceptors I have had on APPEs. She is a true representation of a Christian pharmacist whose love of God is shown through her actions. She is genuine to all. Everyone looks for her during codes and for drug information because they trust her. She cares for her students and wants the best learning experiences for them. Liz lets a student be a pharmacist in training by letting them handle crash cart medications and practice communicating to providers during a code. She thoroughly explained the processes, drugs, and guidelines. She made sure to explain what was happening during codes and would move out of the way just so I could see a procedure.

Liz picks up multiple projects, leadership positions, precepting opportunities, and balances having a loving family. She modeled how to be a great pharmacist for me. She deserves this award for all her devoted time and energy into all she does.

     Health Partners Free Clinic of Miami County

     Dr. Pearson's dedication to providing quality           healthcare for the underserved population of           Troy and beyond is to be revered. His unbiased       and genuine concern for patients can be felt             right from the start as every patient he                       interacts with adores him. I applaud Dr.                     Pearson for his exceptional devotion to patient       care and his encouragement to pharmacy                 students to always stay curious and strive for           the best. I will forever be grateful to him for his       thoughtful feedback and kind words as I                   wouldn't have considered residency if it                     weren't for him.

Rainbow Ahuja Ctr for Women & Babies

Jackie truly embodies what being a true, genuine leader looks like in the pharmacy space and models how to effectively lead a team! Amidst dealing with a fluid shortage that affected the entire hospital system, she not only provided a high quality learning experience for me, but demonstrated how I can improve upon and build my own leadership style as a future pharmacy leader! She enabled me to speak on several issues as they came about in the fluid shortage and had great, productive conversations about how to be an effective leader in pharmacy!

Barr's Hometown Pharmacy 

Barr's Pharmacy was the first pharmacy I had ever worked in, and Lisa made my experience better than I could have imagined. I enjoyed watching her take her time to compassionately counsel patients and go the extra mile to ensure that they felt cared for. Lisa recognizes that good healthcare is not limited to medications and showed me how pharmacists can impact their patients. She reminded me what pharmacy is truly about and showed me how to give patients the best care possible

OHioHealth Medical Oncology & Hematology

Dr. Place created a casual and relaxing environment, while also challenging me as a learner every day. Dr. Place's awareness of cancer disease states and rapidly-adapting complex treatment guidelines were seemingly second-to-none. Sarah had extremely high expectations of me as a learner and provided me with learning experiences throughout the rotation that challenged me to learn content I was not familiar with. This rotation was by far the one in which I learned the most.

Connect with the OEP

Office of Experiential Programs

Dr. Zach Jenkins

Director of APPE Education

zjenkins@cedarville.edu

937-766-3057

Dr. Brenda Pahl

Director of IPPE Education

bpahl@cedarville.edu

937-766-7451

Mrs. Sherry Weller

Experiential Program Coordinator

sweller@cedarville.edu

937-766-7463

Mrs. Angie Wilson

Community Engagement Director

angelawilson@cedarville.edu

937-766-3249