Early experiences of the mini-PAT (Peer Assessment Tool) amongst hospital pharmacists in south east London.

OBJECTIVES

The aim was to describe early experience of use of the mini-PAT (Peer Assessment Tool) amongst general-level pharmacists working in secondary care, and to capture their views about the method of assessment.

METHODS

General-level pharmacists who had completed two rounds of the mini-PAT assessment in their first year post-qualification were asked to complete a semi-structured questionnaire, assessing the usefulness and acceptability of the assessment method.

KEY FINDINGS

The pharmacists found the assessment method useful and acceptable, with many citing that they found it useful to see how they were doing in relation to their peers. To further improve the assessment method, the general-level pharmacists suggested that any verbatim comments made should have the relevant assessor's name next to it, so the context of the comment can be understood.

CONCLUSIONS

Early experience suggests that the mini-PAT is a useful formative assessment tool for use amongst GLPs.