ABSTRACT
There is a widespread commitment that the teaching of professional subjects should not be limited to the acquisition of esoteric knowledge, but that students should acquire skills and personal abilities that enhance their future professional role. Such skills, abilities, and knowledge may be developed from a program of structured learning in a work placement. This paper outlines the development of structured work-based learning activities for use by U.K. undergraduate pharmacy students in an eight-week standardized summer vacation work placement in community pharmacy. Assessment methods were developed to quantify the learning outcomes and acceptability of the work placement to the students, employers, and university. The whole process has been evaluated to demonstrate benefits.