Pharmaceutical Common Achievement Tests (PhCAT)

During the six years of study at schools of pharmacy, practical practice in medical workplaces, such as hospitals and community pharmacies, carried out from the 5th year enables learning of actual pharmacists skills. The on-site pharmacy practice is aimed at not only providing the skills required as pharmacists, but also cultivating the ethics and sense of duty as medical personnel. It is performed under the supervision and guidance of well-experienced pharmacists. However, it is necessary to ensure that pharmacy students without license have a certain level of knowledge, skills, and attitude prior to participating in on-site pharmacy practice. It must be proven that the students’ competence is at a constant and acceptable level on a nationwide scale.

For this purpose, all schools of pharmacy in Japan implement the Pharmaceutical Common Achievement Tests (PhCAT) prior to on-site pharmacy practice. PhCAT are unified tests used in schools of pharmacy throughout Japan, and only students who pass the tests can move on to the practice.

The knowledge, skills and attitude required are evaluated using two types of tests: Computer-Based Testing (CBT) assessing student’s basic knowledge and Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) for assessing student’s skills and attitude required in the medical workplace.

Reference: http://www.phcat.or.jp/en/?page_id=4 

When are the Pharmaceutical Common Achievement Tests conducted?

The examinations are for guaranteeing that students have acquired knowledge, skills and attitude required for pharmacy practice. Therefore, taking the tests immediately before pharmacy practice is preferable. The Pharmaceutical Common Achievement Tests Organization coordinates the schedule to ensure the examinations are conducted between December 1 and January 31 every year, which is just before the on-site pharmacy practice is carried out. Makeup tests are also scheduled by the end of March.

Reference: http://www.phcat.or.jp/en/?page_id=4

Overview/Description of Computer-Based Testing (CBT)

The purpose of Computer-Based Testing (CBT) is to evaluate whether or not pharmacy students have a certain level of knowledge through an objective examination before beginning pharmacy practice. Schools of pharmacy are able to set their own examination dates within a certain timeframe.

Students respond to questions which are sent over the Internet and displayed on their computer screens. The questions differ for each student. Each of all questions issued are associated with expected response rates based on previous trials, trial tests and past examinations. A mechanism is used to ensure the overall level for each student is the same even if the questions are different. By combining a total of 310 different questions, overall expected response rate is regulated systematically to the same level for all students.

CBT questions are made based on the 990 items of specific behavioral objectives (SBOs) in the Model Core Curriculum for Pharmacy Education and Model Core Curriculum for Pharmacy Practice. Total of 310 questions are divided into 3 zones and issued to the student as shown in the table below.

Coverage and Number of Questions in CBT

Zone Subjects # of questions
1 Physical Chemistry 30 100 Q’s in 120 min
Organic Chemistry 35
Biological Chemistry 35
2 Pharmacology 60 110 Q’s in 120 min
Pharmaceutics 35
Drug Information 15
3 Humanity and Communication / Introduction to Pharmacy 10 100 Q’s in 120 min
Hygiene / Environmental Sciences 40
Social Relationship / Laws & Restrictions 20
Preclinical Training 30

Reference: http://www.phcat.or.jp/en/?page_id=10

Types and Levels of CBT Questions

CBT questions are in a format where students choose the correct answer (or occasionally the incorrect answer) among five options. The sentence of each option is uniform and not very long so that students are able to answer each question within one minute. On the other hand, the content of each question corresponds to only one SBO. Rather than issuing the same questions to all students, different questions are randomly issued to each student.

CBT questions are at a level that assesses basic knowledge on important keywords and topics covered in each area. With sufficient basic knowledge learned over the four years of undergraduate study, students are expected to score 70 to 80 %.

Reference: http://www.phcat.or.jp/en/?page_id=10

Analysis

Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) is to evaluate whether or not pharmacy students have a certain level of skills and attitude objectively before beginning pharmacy practice.

OSCE is composed of one or two exams in the five areas shown below, and each exam is conducted by practical test or simulation test with standardized patients (SP).

Evaluation in OSCE

OSCE evaluation is performed by evaluators organized by faculty members of the relevant school, faculty members from other schools, and pharmacists from hospitals and community pharmacies.

Evaluation method is divided into two types. One is the detailed evaluation method that is based on a checklist (yes/no) spanning more than ten items. The other is the summary evaluation method to rate the overall performance of the student on six levels. For each exam, passing criteria is 1) the average number of “yes” on the checklist by the two evaluators is 70% or more in the detailed evaluation, and 2) the sum of rating points (1-6 point) by the two evaluators is 5 or more in the evaluation summary. A student must pass all six exams to be successful in the OSCE.

Reference: http://www.phcat.or.jp/en/?page_id=23

Implementation & Evaluation System

The system of CBT (Computer Based Testing) incorporates functions for providing sets of questions that guarantee the overall difficulty level while issuing different questions to different students, functions for supporting the management of teachers nationwide who are involved in 4-step assessment of questions, and functions for updating questions that reflect revisions in relevant laws such as the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act. Furthermore, upgrading is constantly being made to the test software according to the development of Information and Communication Technology (ICT).

Reference: http://www.phcat.or.jp/en/?page_id=25