Associate Professor, University of Toronto, Canada

Debra Sibbald is an Associate Professor, Teaching Stream and Academic Lead, Admissions PharmD (AL-APP) at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto; and a Consultant in Education and Competence Assessment/Evaluation.

She has extensive experience and expertise in medical education. She holds a PhD in Curriculum, Teaching and Learning; a Masters in Adult Education (Assessment); a Certificate in Educating Health Professionals for Inter-professional Care (EHPIC) UT; and a Certificate as an International Expert for Designing, Assessing and Implementing Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs).

As the Academic Lead Admissions, she designed and implemented an innovative online screening test for admission to the Pharm D program at the University of Toronto, spring 2021 during pandemic lockdown constraints. The design was a mixed methods asynchronous online recorded interview combining blueprinted, validated, weighted assessments to discriminate between large numbers of admission applications. The instrument assessed interdependent intrinsic attributes using recorded verbal responses to objective and reflective questions; written passage responses testing attributes and English skills; and objective multiple-choice questions assessing attributes and English proficiency.

She developed performance-based behavioural global rating scales and rubrics and trained expert/non-expert assessors to evaluate responses. Standard setting was accomplished through pre-launch and concurrent pilots to set a conjunctive pass score for weighted scores for each component. Processes for reconsiderations were established.

Her expertise in curriculum includes curriculum designs, small and large classroom strategies research methodologies, and online computer-assisted formats for teaching, assessment and research. This includes written and e-assessments for formative, summative and workplace-based assessments as well as performance and written competency evaluations in preparation for and maintenance of practice competency. Her research areas include developing models for leveraging teaching and assessment designs to enhance evaluation of self-regulating allied health professionals; guided reflection; and e-assessments.

She is the Chair of Admissions and Recruitment for the Faculty of Pharmacy. She serves on Faculty, University, and Health Professional assessment and evaluation committees, including peer review of teaching, reviews for tenure, national committees for standard setting, assessment designs and research in evaluation for licensing examinations. She is a current member of the Examination Oversight Committee for the Medical Council of Canada and a contributing member the International Health Professional Assessment Consultancy.

She is a past member of other Medical Council Committees, including the National Examination Committee, the NAC PRA committee and the Therapeutics Decision Making (TDM) Examination Committee.

As the Executive Director of Assessment Programs at Touchstone Institute (2011-2018), she advanced theoretical and methodological approaches to competency assessments and research designs; designed competence frameworks for North American Fertility Nurses; and customized assessments for Pharmacists, Physicians, Nurses, Nurse Practitioners, Optometrists, Dietitians; and Embryologists / Andrologists.