Outcomes and experiential education.

Outcomes-based assessment in education involves continuous use of assessment measures to provide feedback about the efficacy of the curricular structure, content, and teaching methods. This process is initiated by establishing educational outcome statements for the Doctor of Pharmacy curriculum, selecting assessment methods that most appropriately measure the educational outcomes, and establishing a learning environment that is congruent with both the outcomes and assessment methods. To ensure a successful continuous outcomes-based assessment process, a systematic assessment plan should be prepared that focuses the process by identifying only the most essential hypotheses, uses a practical yet appropriate methodology, ensures efficient data collection, includes data analyses that link the educational outcomes to the learning environment, and promotes timely development and implementation of an action plan. An overview of outcomes-based education and the use of outcomes-based practice experiences in pharmacy education is presented.