Debra Sibbald, Associate Professor - Teaching Stream

Debra Sibbald is an Associate Professor at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Pharmacy 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).

Her expertise in curriculum includes curriculum designs, small and large classroom strategies research methodologies, and online computer-assisted learning 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 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 contributing member of both the National Examination Committee for the Medical Council of Canada and the International Health Professional Assessment Consultancy.

She is a frequently invited speaker at international meetings for medical education, including the annual Canadian Conference on Medical Education, the London International Advanced Assessment Course and the Association of Medical Education of Europe; and biannual meetings such as the Ottawa Conference on the Assessment of Competence in Medicine and the Healthcare Professions; the Monash Pharmacy Education Symposium and the Lifelong Learning in Pharmacy Conference. She has received twenty-two academic awards, including three Innovations in Teaching prizes from the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, the Vice President and Provost Merit Award, and the Canadian Association of Medical Education Faculty Research Presentation Award. She has been Professor of the Year four times.

Her clinical and subject matter expertise include specialities in Dermatology, Self-Care/Minor Ailments and Drug Information (critical appraisal). She has authored over 90 publications, and addresses professional audiences as an expert for educational designs and assessments, development and implementation of competency-based evaluations, continuing and inter-professional education, online educational instruction, as well as clinical practice areas. She serves on twenty-one editorial advisory boards.

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.

Selected Publications

Sibbald D, Pharmacy students complete formative and summative entrustment assessments (EPAs) to appraise self and peer ability to perform unsupervised in the self-care community workplace. Canadian Conference on Medical Education 2020 Abstracts         Vol. 11 No. 2 (2020)

Sibbald D, Pharmacy students use guided reflection and entrustment (EPA) assessments to appraise ‘secret’ patient/pharmacist encounters in the selfcare community workplace. Canadian Conference on Medical Education 2020 Abstracts Vol. 11 No. 2 (2020)

Sibbald D, Dandruff and Seborrhea in Therapeutic Choices for Minor Ailments (3rd Ed 2020) Canadian Pharmaceutical Association

Sibbald D, Acne Vulgaris, in DiPiro/Pharmacotherapy: A Pathophysiologic Approach 11th Edition. McGraw-Hill Companies, 2019

Monteiro S.D., Sibbald D and Coetzee K. i-Assess: Evaluating the impact of electronic data capture for OSCE" Perspectives on Medical Education. In press

Monteiro S.D., Sibbald D. Customizing the Standard to the Purpose of the Assessment Journal of Multi-Disciplinary Evaluation Volume 14, Issue 30, 2018

Sibbald D, Psoriasis in Therapeutic Choices for Minor Ailments (2nd Ed 2016) Canadian Pharmaceutical Association

Sibbald D, Diaper Dermatitis in Therapeutic Choices for Minor Ailments (2nd Ed 2016) Canadian Pharmaceutical Association

Sibbald D, Acne in Therapeutic Choices for Minor Ailments (2nd Ed 2016) Canadian Pharmaceutical Association

Sibbald D, Atopic, Contact and Stasis Dermatitis, in Therapeutic Choices for Minor Ailments (2nd Ed 2016) Canadian Pharmaceutical Association

Sibbald D: Elective Self-Care Course Emphasizing Critical Reasoning Principles American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education Volume 75, Issue 9, November 2011: 182

Sibbald D: A Student Assessment of the Virtual Interactive Case Tool for Asynchronous Learning (‘VITAL’) and Other Self-Directed Learning Formats, American Journal Pharmaceutical Education. Winter session, Vol 68 No. 1, 2004

Sibbald D and Regehr, G: Impact on the Psychometric Properties of a Pharmacy OSCE Using First Year Students As Standardized Patients, Teaching and Learning in Medicine, Vol 15, No 3, July 2003

Sibbald D: VITAL: Virtual Interactive case Tool for Asynchronous Learning: PBL Students Develop an On-line Resource for Non-Prescription Drugs, American Journal Pharmaceutical Education. Winter session, Vol 67 No. 1, 2003

Sibbald D: Using First Year Students as Standardized Patients for an Objective Structured Clinical Exam (OSCE) for Third Year Pharmacy Students, American Journal Pharmaceutical Education. Vol 65 No. 4, 404-412, 2001

Sibbald D: Bridging the Gap to Practice - Pharmacy PBL Students Establish Consumer Website for Non-prescription Drugs, American Journal Pharmaceutical Education. Winter session, Vol 64 No. 4, 2000

Sibbald, D: Experiential Assessment: Oral clinical Skills Examination as an Innovative Reinforcing Strategy for Self-Medication Courses, American Journal Pharmaceutical Education. Winter session, Vol 63 No. 3 December 1998

Sibbald, D: Innovative, Pharmaceutical Care Courses for Self-Medication, American Journal Pharmaceutical Education. Summer session, Vol 63 No. 2p 109-119, July 1998