METHODS: The 2-unit leadership course was piloted among second- and third-year students in a public college of pharmacy with a 4-year doctor of pharmacy curriculum. The participating students completed the LABS-III during the first and last classes as part of a quality improvement measure for course enhancement. Rasch analysis was then used to assess the reliability and validity evidence for the LABS-III.
RESULTS: A total of 24 students participated in the pilot course. The pre and postcourse surveys had 100% and 92% response rates, respectively. After Rasch analysis model fit was achieved, the item separation for the 14 nonextreme items was 2.19 with an item reliability of 0.83. The person separation index was 2.16 with a person reliability of 0.82.
CONCLUSION: The Rasch analysis revealed that the number of LABS-III items should be decreased and that the 3-point response scale should be used to improve functionality and use in classroom settings for PharmD students in the United States. Further research is needed to augment the reliability and validity evidence of the modified instrument for use at other United States colleges of pharmacy.
DESIGN: A 13-station OSCE was designed and implemented in the 2007-2008 academic year as part of the assessment methods for a clinical pharmacy course. The broad competencies tested in the OSCE included: patient counseling and communication, clinical pharmacokinetics (CPK), identification and resolution of drug-related problems (DRPs), and literature evaluation/drug information provision.
ASSESSMENT: Immediately after all students completed the OSCE, a questionnaire containing items on the clarity of written instructions, difficulty of the tasks, perceived degree of learning gained and needed, and the suitability of the references or literature resources provided was administered. More than 70% of the students felt that a higher degree of learning was needed to accomplish the tasks at the 2 DRP stations and 2 CPK stations and the majority felt the written instructions provided at the phenytoin CPK station were difficult to understand. Although about 60% of the students rated OSCE as a difficult form of assessment, 75% said it should be used more and 81% perceived they learned a lot from it.
CONCLUSION: Although most students felt that the OSCE accurately assessed their skills, a majority felt the tasks required in some stations required a higher degree of learning than they had achieved. This may indicate deficiencies in the students' learning abilities, the course curriculum, or the OSCE station design. Future efforts should include providing clearer instructions at OSCE stations and balancing the complexity of the competencies assessed.
METHODS: A cross-sectional online survey-based study was conducted among randomly selected pharmacy students in 12 countries: Egypt, Türkiye, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iraq, Jordan, Nigeria, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and the United Arab Emirates. After pilot testing, the validated 30-item academic resilience scale (ARS) was used for the assessment. The data were collected between November 1, 2022 and April 15, 2023. Descriptive and inferential statistics were performed, as appropriate.
RESULTS: A total of 3950 were received from the 12 participating countries. The mean age was 21.68 ± 2.62 years. About two-thirds of the responses were from female participants and those studying for Bachelor of Pharmacy degrees. Overall, the findings show moderate academic resilience, which varied across countries. The median (IQR) of the total ARS-30 was 114 (103-124). Females exhibited lower negative affective and emotional response subscale levels than males. There were significant cross-country variations in the ARS-30 and all subscales. The highest overall levels were reported for Sudan, Pakistan, and Nigeria and the lowest were reported for Indonesia and Türkiye. Students in private universities tended to have higher overall ARS levels than public university students. Higher academic performance was significantly associated with ARS levels, whereas those with excellent performance exhibited the highest ARS levels. Students with exercise routines had higher ARS levels than those without exercise routines. Finally, students who were engaged in extracurricular activities had higher ARS levels than those who did not participate in these activities.
CONCLUSION: The study offers insights into the factors affecting academic resilience in pharmacy students across several countries. The findings could guide interventions and support activities to improve resilience and academic outcomes.
METHODS: A validated self-administered questionnaire was used in this cross-sectional study to collect data from final-year BPharm students enrolled at 3 government-funded universities and 1 private university in Malaysia. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data analysis.
RESULTS: Three hundred fourteen students responded (213 from public universities and 101 from the private university). Approximately 32% of public university students and 37% of private university students ranked their own interest in pharmacy as the reason for undertaking pharmacy degree studies; 40.4% of public and 19.8% of private university respondents stated that they would enter a nonpharmacy-related career upon graduation if given the choice. Public university students ranked hospital pharmacy as their choice of first career setting (4.39, p = 0.001), while private students ranked community pharmacy first (4.1, p = 0.002). On a scale of 1 to 5, salary received the highest mean score (3.9 and 4.0, p = 0.854) as the extrinsic factor most influencing their career choice.
CONCLUSIONS: Final-year students at Malaysian public universities were most interested in hospital pharmacy practice as their first career step upon graduation, while private university students were most interested in community pharmacy. The top 3 extrinsic factors rated as significant in selecting a career destination were salary, benefits, and geographical location.