Assessing extemporaneous compounding skills through an objective structured practical examination (OSPE): pharmacy students' perspectives

Objective Extemporaneous compounding requires students to integrate pharmaceutical calculations, dosage form preparation, documentation, regulatory knowledge, and professional communication. Traditional assessment methods may not adequately evaluate these competencies under standardized practice-oriented conditions. Although objective structured practical examinations (OSPEs) are increasingly used in pharmacy education, evidence regarding their application to extemporaneous compounding remains limited. This study evaluated pharmacy students' immediate perceptions of an OSPE designed to assess extemporaneous compounding skills. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted among fifth-year pharmacy students who completed a single standardized 10-min OSPE station in extemporaneous compounding. Student performance was assessed using a five-item binary checklist. After the examination, students anonymously completed a study-specific questionnaire, and descriptive statistics were used for analysis. Results All 52 eligible students completed the OSPE station, and 47 completed the post-OSPE questionnaire (response rate, 90.4%). The mean checklist score was 4.56 out of 5 points, corresponding to 91.2% of the maximum possible score. Most respondents agreed that the OSPE supported application of theoretical knowledge to practical tasks (85%), demonstration of professional compounding skills (83%), and structured professional reasoning (77%). However, 45% reported difficulty planning their preparation, 49% felt more comfortable providing written rather than oral explanations, and 57% indicated a need for additional rehearsal activities. Conclusion Students perceived the OSPE positively as a feasible structured approach for assessing extemporaneous compounding competencies. The findings provide evidence on a standardized single-station OSPE in an underrepresented area of pharmacy education research.