Students’ views about a pharmacy franchise programmes in Malaysia: A qualitative study
Keywords:
Pharmacy Education, Quality Assessment, Content Analysis, Franchised Programme, MalaysiaAbstract
Objectives: Globally, the transitions in pharmacy education are acting as a major challenge to stimulate better outcomes in pharmacy professional programmes. To meet these challenges, some universities in Malaysia and overseas have authorised franchised programmes at various private colleges. This research explored the views of students regarding such franchised pharmacy programmes in Malaysia.
Methods: A theme-based analysis of qualitative data from internet narratives of students' views about franchised programmes in Malaysia was used. The ethical considerations of using internet narratives were approved. Narratives for analysis were obtained by using open-ended questions related to the themes to document the respondents' responses. Narratives were included if they were written in English, Malay or Chinese, they described the students’ views and experiences of franchised pharmacy programmes, and they were publicly accessible. Exclusion criteria included narratives given by non-pharmacy students or students’ parents. Students’ written words were analysed in an iterative analytical process following the principles of narrative analysis, and data collection was stopped when no new information was generated, denoting data saturation. NVivo Version 10 was used to apply three stages of coding – open, axial and selective – in order to identify principal characteristics and themes.
Results: Ten students fulfilled the inclusion criteria and shared their views about the posted statements. The majority mentioned that institutions starting a franchised pharmacy programme must adopt a quality approach rather than being purely profit-driven. The institutions approving such programmes should ensure that an equal standard of quality of teaching is applied by the franchisee as the franchisor so as to maintain the desired learning outcomes.
Conclusion: Students’ overall perceptions of franchised pharmacy programmes were mixed. They had strong opinions on measures to ensure the quality of teaching and underpin the achievement of programme educational outcomes.
References
ACPE Accreditation Standards and Guidelines for the Professional Program in Pharmacy Leading to the Doctor of Pharmacy Degree. Available at: http://www.acpe-accredit.org/pdf ACPE_ Revised_ PharmD Standards Adopted Jan152006.pdf. Accessed 19 Jan 2015, Chicago, IL, Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education.
Aita, V., McIlvain, H., Backer, E., McVea, K. & Crabtree, B. (2005). Patient-centered care and communication in primary care practice: what is involved? Patient Educ Counsel, 58, 296-304.
Boyd, J. A., McKenzie, C. A. & Holmes, T. J. (1999). Assessment of learning disabilities among a pharmacy student population. Am J Pharm Educ, 63, 68-71.
Ecclestone, K. (2001). 'I know a 2:1 when I see it': Understanding criteria for degree classifications in franchised university programmes. J Further Higher Educ, 25, 301-313.
Hadi, M. A., Long, C. M., Leng, L. W., Lylia, R. R. & Adam, A. (2011). A needs-based curriculum review for diploma in pharmacy programme at a Malaysian university. Arch Pharm Pract, 2, 23.
Khan, T. (2011). Challenges to pharmacy and pharmacy practice in Pakistan. Australasian Med J, 4, 230.
Khan, T. M. (2010a). Critical Considerations in Pharmacy Curriculum Development in South Asian and Southeast Asian Developing Nations. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 74, 176g.
Khan, T. M. (2010b). Glimpse of pharmacy education in Pakistan and current challenges to pharmacy education. Int J Pharm Tech Pract, 1, 5-10.
Khan, T. M. (2012). Deficiencies in clinical pharmacy curricula in developing Asian nations. Europ J Hosp Pharm: Sci Prac.
Khan, T. M., Anwar, M. & Mueen Ahmed, K. K. (2011). A Perspective for Clinical Pharmacy Curriculum Development and Validation in Asian Developing Nations. J Young Pharmacists 3, 151-154.
Long, C. M., Hadi, M. A., Kassab, Y. W., Yap, Y. L. & Lee, W. L. Does Msc in clinical pharmacy promote a clinical pharmacy career? A qualitative study. The 13th Asian Conference on Clinical Pharmacy, September 13th – 15th, 2013 Haiphong city, Vietnam, 2013. Asian Conference on Clinical Pharmacy.
Malaysian Qualification Agency (2013). Rating for accreditation of undergraduate pharmacy programme in Malaysia (revised version).
Ming, L. C., Mei, Y. S., Muhammad, A. M., Hussain, M. & Manan, M. M. Curriculum review of pharmacoinformatics course for bachelor of pharmacy programme. Taylor’s 7th Teaching and Learning Conference 2014 Proceedings - Holistic Education: Enacting Change.
Palmer, A. (1992). Franchised Degree Teaching What Can Educators Learn From Business? J Further Higher Educ, 16, 77-86.
Pharmaceutical Services Divisions (Ministry of Health Malaysia) List of Recognized Pharmacy Degree by Pharmacy Board Malaysia. Available from http://www.pharmacy.gov.my/v2/en/content/list-recognized-pharmacy-degree-pharmacy-board-malaysia.html. Accessed 10 Jan 2016.
Pharmacy Board Malaysia (2007). Guidelines on approval and recognition of a pharmacy programme.
Roche, V. F. (1991). Assessing the Attributes Which Influence Pharmacy School Selection to Promote Effective Recruiting Strategies. Am J Pharm Educ, 55, 322-31.
Wade, W. E., Cobb III, H. H., Spruill, W. J. & Chisholm, M. A. (1999). Assessment of student performance in an advanced pharmacokinetics course taught by three methods of instructional delivery. Am J Pharm Educ, 63, 82-85.
Yen, W. Y., Fen, N. C., Ming, L. C., Mei, Y. S. & Muhammad, A. M. (2015). Practical tips to facilitate CO:PO mapping and documentation Taylor’s 7th Teaching and Learning Conference 2014 Proceedings - Holistic Education: Enacting Change.
