I talked my GM into allowing my Sorcerer 1/Bard 3/Druid 1 character to take the Practiced Spellcaster feat from Complete Arcane.
This feat allows me to add up to 4 to her caster level for the purpose of calculating the effects of spells and getting through spell resistance. This does not increase spells per day, spells known, or grant any extra spell slots.
Caster level can not exceed hit dice due to this feat. Also, the feat only applies to one class, chosen at the time the feat is taken. The feat may be taken multiple times and applied to a different class each time.
Since Nora's Sorcerer spells are mage armor and grease, it would be more advantageous to apply this feat to her druid spells.
The big advantage of this feat is that Nora's 1st level Druid spells would be counted as cast by a 5th level caster, not a 1st level caster. This means summoned animals would stick around for 5 rounds, attacking, flanking, and potentially requiring enemies to use up attacks and resources to get rid of them. Cure Light Wounds would cure an extra 4 points when cast. Produce Flame would do an extra 4 points of damage, and could be thrown five times instead of just once. And higher level druid spells should benefit similarly.
The feat requires 4 ranks in Spellcraft. Since Nora had so far not had any ranks in Spellcraft, this means scrambling to meet the prereq. With an Int of 14, she gets 6 ranks, so I can put 4 into Spellcraft and 2 into keeping up her other skills.
My question is, is it worth it? Would it be better to use those skill points elsewhere and take some other feat? Maybe shore up the character in the skills and combat areas. Any advice?
That's a lot to answer.
First, I would probably put the points into Spellcraft anyway. It's a useful skill. It's just about requried for efficient counterspelling. It's also extremely useful for identifying magic items. Of course, maybe you have other spellcasters and it's not really that big a deal.
Then again, bards can Countersong, and you'll need a good perform skill to use it, so make sure you don't neglect that.
As to the benefits you mention, 4 extra rounds of your summoned chipmunk won't matter much when you're fighting trolls, or giants, or dragons. Healing an average of 9 HP instead of 5 won't matter much when you're taking 20-30 HP every round from the monsters' attacks. Likewise with the damage from Produce Flame, though the extra tosses may be fun.
As for the higher level druid spells, that assumes you will take more druid levels. Is that your plan? If not, then I would suggest your forget all about Practiced Spellcaster and find a feat that will benefit your primary Class or your primary role in the group. But if you will be seriously leveling your druid, then suddenly Practiced Spellcaster looks useful again.
Shore up your character in skills and combat? As a druid/bard you should have tons of skills. Doesn't sound like that's your problem. But as a 5th level character with a BAB of 2, you're already very nearly hopeless at combat already. You're going to be 10th level before you even get a second attack. You have the armor and weapon proficiences of a bard and a druid, but you have the skill at using them of a sorcerer (a pure, weak, normal sorcerer at your level has the same BAB that you have). The other bards and druids will laugh at your ineptitude.
I'm not trying to be cruel, but I am trying to drive the point home: if you made this class to be a "combat" class, then you may need to get back to the drawing board.
When you multiclass into three classes, you should never do so to be powerful. It will always fail. Multiclassing across this broad a spectrum is geared toward gaining versatility, not upward power curve. You can cast more spells per day than any 5th level caster, but they're all weak spells. While a wizard your level is casting Haste and Fireball, you don't even have any 2nd level spells yet. You need at least 4 more levels to get a 3rd level spell (and by then the wizard will be casting Cloudkill and Teleport).
So face it now, you'll never be a combat monster, be it melee, archery, spells, or whatever. I hope you knew that when you made this character, because now would be an awkward time to find out.
So, maybe the question you should ask would be "Would it be better to use those skill points elsewhere and take some other feat? Maybe shore up the character in utility areas. Any advice?"
To which I would answer, "Maybe".
The Practiced Spellcaster feaat, combined with a fairly serious attempt to focus on druid levels, is a fairly good idea. Possibly the best idea.
But dumping skill points into Heal and UMD and Performance (mainly for Countersong), while focusing mainly on your bard levels, and then taking feats like Improved Initiative so you can act sooner and buff sooner, or Extra Performance to keep up those bardic perfromances, or maybe even some item crafting feats, might actually be good too.
Some of the decision may be based on what other caracters in your party are doing.
But most of the decision should probably be based on you. What do you want to play?