6 Oct 2026
Ready or Not: Life After the PCAT
The Fika Crew welcomes Wendy Cox, PharmD (UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy), and Katherine "Kathy" Kelley (The Ohio State College of Pharmacy) to unpack pharmacy education's biggest dilemmas: what to do after retiring the PCAT in 2024? Wendy and Kathy describe what their schools are seeing — students less prepared, GPAs harder to interpret, and readiness programs stepping in to fill the gap. We talk about what's driving grade inflation, rising remediation needs, and colleges struggling to gauge readiness without a common yardstick. The crew digs into bias, both in tests and in what they reveal about our educational system. Grab your favorite beverage + snack.
Intro and Fika Snack Sharing: 0:00 - 4:23
Life After PCAT: 4:24
Resources
Paseiro P, Cox W. Testing the limits: revisiting standardized testing in pharmacy education. Am J Pharm Educ. 2025;89(10):101498.
Acosta R, Christensen K, Campos A, et al. Advancing PharmD admissions with evidence, competencies, and recommendations for student readiness: report of the 2025-2026 AACP Student Affairs Committee. Am J Pharm Educ. 2026;90:102008. doi:10.1016/j.ajpe.2026.102008.
Kuncel NR, Credé M, Thomas LL, Klieger DM, Seiler SN, Woo SE. A meta-analysis of the validity of the Pharmacy College Admission Test (PCAT) and grade predictors of pharmacy student performance. Am J Pharm Educ. 2005;69(3):339-347. doi:10.5688/aj690351.
Hall JL, Corelli RL, DeHart R, Haney J, Lebovitz L, Philbrick AM, et al. Trends in Pharmacy College Admission Test requirements and utilization across colleges and schools of pharmacy. Am J Pharm Educ. 2021;85(3):8179. doi:10.5688/ajpe8179.
Woo SE, LeBreton JM, Keith MG, Tay L. Bias, fairness, and validity in graduate-school admissions: a psychometric perspective. Perspect Psychol Sci. 2023;18(1):3-31. doi:10.1177/17456916211055374.
Catlett JL 2nd, Sarfo EK, Maysonet J, Parkas V, Swartz TH. Validity and equity of the AAMC PREview situational judgment test in U.S. medical school admissions. Med Teach. 2026;48(8):1384-1392. doi:10.1080/0142159X.2026.2621963.
Goldstein E, Gutkin L. Janet Napolitano helped kill the SAT. She's reconsidering. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Published July 13, 2026. Accessed September 17, 2026.
_______________________
The Pharmacy Fika podcast is a positive and compassionate “place” (a virtual community) where pharmacy and other health professions educators gather to discuss teaching, learning, scholarship, and academic life… plus the snacks that support their best work. So grab your favorite beverage and listen to the Pharmacy Fika podcast with your colleagues.
The Co-Hosts are:
Stuart T. Haines (Executive Producer), University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy – sthaines@olemiss.edu
Tina Brock, Monash University - tina.brock@monash.edu
Jeff Cain, University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy - jeff.cain@uky.edu
Kristin Janke, University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy - janke006@umn.edu
Disclaimer (inspired by Whad’Ya Know?): All opinions expressed on the Pharmacy Fika podcast are well-reasoned and insightful. Needless to say, they are ours and our guests alone, and not those of our employing institutions.
Even though we don’t accept advertising and don’t have any sponsors, we seem to mention Trader Joe’s snacks and various water-based drinks a LOT.
Not sure what fika is all about? Watch this brief video: How a Swedish coffee break can boost your wellbeing and performance.
Got a great idea for a discussion topic? Drop us a line (pharmacyfika@gmail.com) or leave us a voice message: https://www.speakpipe.com/PharmacyFika
