Identifying predictors of Pharmacy Licence Examination using grade point average
Keywords:
Academic Achievement, Curricular Improvement, Pharmacy CurriculaAbstract
Background: Passing the Pharmacy Licence Examination (PLE) is a goal of students and faculty. Predictors of PLE would help attain this goal.
Aims: To identify predictors of PLE using grade point averages (GPAs).
Methods: Student records including course GPAs, admissions route, specialty track, gender and PLE scores consisting of multiple choice questions (MCQ) and objective structured pharmacy examination (OSPE) were examined. Associations between student data and PLE scores were determined using linear regression analyses at the significance level of 0.05.
Results: Significant relations were found between MCQ and pharmacotherapy, pharmaceutical technology and integration of pharmacy professions (adjusted R2=0.573), and between OSPE and pharmacy practices II (adjusted R2=0.085). The association of admissions route and specialty track with OSPE was slight.
Conclusion: This study identified three course sub-areas: pharmacotherapy, pharmaceutical technology and integration of pharmacy professions as strong predictors of high MCQ scores suggesting that high GPAs improved high MCQ scores.
References
ACPE [Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education]. (2016). Accreditation standards and key elements for the professional program in pharmacy leading to the doctor of pharmacy degree (online). Available at: http://www. acpe2016.edu. Accessed 1st November, 2017.
Allen, R.E. & Diaz, C. (2013). Use of preadmission criteria and performance in the Doctor of Pharmacy program to predict success on the North American Pharmacists Licensure Examination. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 77(9), Article 193.
Baker, D.M. & Nemec, E.C. (2014). A survey of grading scale variations in Doctor of Pharmacy programs. Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning, 6(2), 194-202.
Bowers, D.R., Kainer, L.L., Mai, K.A. & Tam, V.H. (2014). An objective assessment of professional pharmacy programmes in the United States. Pharmacy Education, 14(1), 16-20.
Bramley, D.M., Innes, A.J., Duggan, C. & Oborne, C.A. (2013). The impact of medicines information enquiry answering on patient care and outcomes. International Journal of Pharmacy Practice, 21(6), 393-404.
Chisholm-Burns, M.A., Spivey, C.A., McDonough, S., Phelps, S. & Byrd, D. (2014). Evaluation of student factors associated with pre-NAPLEX Scores. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 78(10), Article 181.
Chisholm-Burns, M.A., Spivey, C.A., Byrd, D.C., McDonough, S.L.K. & Phelps, S.J. (2017). Examining the association between the NAPLEX, Pre-NAPLEX, and pre- and post-admission factors. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 81(5), Article 86.
Cowart, K., Dell, K., Rodriguez-Snapp, N. & Petrelli, H.M.W. (2016). An examination of correlations between MMI scores and pharmacy school GPA. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 80(6), Article 98.
Crow, R.T., Gaebelein, C.L. & Patel, M. (2005). Early indicators of success in a pharmacy curriculum: The role of pre-professional science and mathematics courses. Pharmacy Education, 5(3), 1-4.
Dambisya, Y.M. & Modipa, S.I. (2004). Influence of preadmission (matriculation) scores on the progress of and years taken to graduate by pharmacy students at the University of the North, South Africa. Pharmacy Education, 4(2), 75-79.
Fazel, M.T., Bagalagel, A., Lee, J.K., Martin, J.R. & Slack, M.K. (2017). Impact of diabetes care by pharmacists as part of health care team in ambulatory settings: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Annals of Pharmacotherapy, 51(10), 890-907.
Frankel, G., Louizos, C. & Austin, Z. (2014). Canadian educational approaches for the advancement of pharmacy practice. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 78(7), Article 143.
Frenk, J., Chen, L., Bhutta, Z.A., Cohen, J., Crisp, N., Evans, T., Fineberg, H., Garcia, P., Kelly, Y.K.P., Kistnasamy, B., Naylor, A.M.D., Mendez, A.P., Reddy, S., Scrimshaw, S., Sepulveda, J., Serwadda, D. & Zurayk, H. (2010). Health professionals for a new century: transforming education to strengthen health systems in an interdependent world. Lancet, 376(9756), 1923-1958.
Garavalia, L.S., Prabhu, S., Chung, E. & Robinson, D.C. (2017). An analysis of the use of Pharmacy Curriculum Outcomes Assessment (PCOA) scores within one professional programme. Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning, 9(2), 178-184.
Gillette, C., Rudolph, M., Rockich-Winston, N., Blough, E.R., Sizemore, J.A., Hao, J., Booth, C., Broedel-Zaugg, K., Peterson, M., Anderson, S., Riley, B., Train, B.C., Stanton, R.B. & Anderson Jr., H.G. (2017). Predictors of student performance on the Pharmacy Curriculum Outcomes Assessment at a new school of pharmacy using admission and demographic data. Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning, 9(1), 84-89.
Giuliano, C.A., Gortney, J. & Binienda, J. (2016). Predictors of performance on the pharmacy curriculum outcomes assessment (PCOA). Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning, 8(2), 148-154.
Hall, M., Hanna, L.-A., Hanna, A. & Hall, K. (2015). Associations between achievement goal orientations and academic performance among students at a UK pharmacy school. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 79(5), Article 64.
Hein, B., Messinger, N.J., Penm, J., Wigle, P.R. & Buring, S.M. (2017). Correlation of the Pharmacy Curriculum Outcomes Assessment (PCOA) and selected pre-pharmacy and pharmacy performance variables. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, published online 25th September, 2017. Accessed 1st November, 2017.
Hepler, C.D. & Strand, L.M. (1990). Opportunities and responsibilities in pharmaceutical care. American Journal of Hospital Pharmacy, 47(3), 533-543.
Islam, M.A., Chen, G. & Talukder, R. (2016). Specialty tracks in Pharm.D. curricula of US colleges and schools of pharmacy. Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning, 8(6), 774-781.
Loewen, P.S., Gerber, P., McCormack, J. & McDonald, G. (2016). Design and implementation of an integrated medication management curriculum in an entry-to- practice Doctor of Pharmacy programme. Pharmacy Education, 16(1), 122-130.
Malone, D.T., Short, J.L., Naidu, S.O.M., White, P.J. & Kirkpatrick, C.M. (2015). Mapping of the Australian Qualifications Framework Standards onto an undergraduate Bachelor of Pharmacy course. Pharmacy Education, 15(1), 261 – 269.
McCall, K.L., MacLaughlin, E.J., Fike, D.S. & Ruiz, B. (2007). Preadmission predictors of PharmD graduates’ performance on the NAPLEX. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 71(1), Article 05.
McDonough, S.L.K., Spivey, C.A., Chisholm-Burns, M.A., Jennifer S. Williams, J.S. & Phelps, S.J. (2017). Examination of factors relating to student performance on the Pharmacy Curriculum Outcomes Assessment. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, published online 25th September, 2017. Accessed 1st November, 2017.
Munger, M.A., Walsh, M., Godin, J. & Feehan, M. (2017). Pharmacist’s demand for optimal primary care service delivery in a community pharmacy: The
OPTiPharm study. Annals of Pharmacotherapy, 51(12), 1069-1076.
Murdan, S., Blum, N., Francis, S.A., Slater, E., Alem, N., Munday, M., Taylor, J. & Smith, F. (2015). Global health learning outcomes for pharmacy students in the UK. Pharmacy Education, 15(1), 189-192.
NABP [National Association of Boards of Pharmacy]. (2017). Available at: http://www.nabp.pharmacy/about. Accessed 1st November, 2017.
Nash, R.E., Chalmers, L., Brown, N., Jackson, S. & Peterson, G. (2015). An international review of the use of competency standards in undergraduate pharmacy education. Pharmacy Education, 15(1), 131 – 141.
Newton, D.W., Boyle, M. & Catizone, C.A. (2008). The NAPLEX: Evolution, purpose, scope, and educational implications. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 72(2), Article 33.
Pharmacy Council of Thailand Act (PCTA). (1994) (online). Available at: http://www.pharmacycouncil.org/. Accessed 1st November, 2017.
PCTR [Pharmacy Council of Thailand Regulation]. (2010). (online). Available at: http://www.pharmacy council.org/. Accessed 1st November, 2017.
Pearson, M.L. & Hubball, H.T. (2012). Curricular integration in pharmacy education. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 76(10), Article 204.
Pestka, D.L., Frail, C.K., Palombi, L.C., Von Hoff, B.A., Conway, J.M. & Sorensen, T.D. (2016). Strategies and steps fostering the success of medication management services in community pharmacies. Journal of the American Pharmacists Association, 56(5), 504-512.e1
Sattenstall, M. & Freeman, S. (2009). Integrated learning: An EBL approach to pharmaceutical chemistry. Pharmacy Education, 9(1), 1-5.
Scott, D.M., Bennett, L.L., Ferrill, M.J. & Brown, D.L. (2010). Pharmacy Curriculum Outcomes Assessment for individual student assessment and curricular evaluation. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 74(10), Article 183.
Sharif, S., Gifford, L.A., Morris, G.A. & Barber, J. (2007). An investigation of the self-evaluation skills of first year pharmacy students. Pharmacy Education, 7(4), 295-302.
