Effect of the international pharmacy education programs: A pilot evaluation based on Kirkpatrick's model.

Globalization has attracted much attention to universities over the past decade. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the United States-China international pharmacy education programs (IPEP) in China.Kirkpatrick's model of evaluation was used to evaluate IPEP from reaction and learning levels. In the reaction level, a questionnaire survey with a Likert scale was used. In the learning level, data from "Assessment Record of Advanced Clinical Pharmacy Practice of Peking University" were collected. Cronbach' α coefficient of reliability was calculated, principal component analysis and independent t-test were conducted.All of the students who attended IPEP (n = 36) completed the questionnaire survey. The scores of benefits were increased in 4 categories, including "Clinical practice competency improvement" (mean ranking [MR] = 3.11 points), "Understanding of doctor of Pharmacy education mode" (MR = 3.48 points), "English competency improvement" (MR = 3.64 points) and "International collaboration" (MR = 3.92 points). Meanwhile, the overall satisfaction was relatively high with the IPEP (MR = 4.22 points). In the learning level, a total of 22 records was obtained. Students who attended (n = 5) the IPEP achieved higher scores than those did not attend (n = 17) in the assessment records, although no statistical significant differences were observed. Personal in-depth interviews further supported the overall benefit of IPEP.The Kirkpatrick model of evaluation can be used for IPEP. The benefit and satisfaction of students attended the IPEP were high in the reaction level; even though no statistically significant difference was shown in the learning level, higher scores were still demonstrated.