Implementation of an integrated longitudinal curricular activity for graduating pharmacy students

Area of Science:

• Pharmacy Education
• Curriculum Development
• Student Assessment

Background:

• Preparing Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) students for comprehensive licensing and commercial examinations is crucial.
• Traditional methods may not fully engage students or prepare them for high-stakes assessments.
• A need exists for innovative curricular activities that enhance learning and exam readiness.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of an integrated longitudinal curricular activity designed to prepare PharmD students for comprehensive examinations.
• To assess the activity's impact on student engagement in curricular discussions and learning.
• To determine if participation in the activity correlates with improved examination scores.

Main Methods:

• Thirty-eight third-year PharmD students formed teams to create and present pharmacotherapeutic posters.
• The study assessed the impact of this activity on students' performance on the North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination (NAPLEX) and a commercial examination.
• All first-year, second-year, and third-year students reviewed and discussed the presented poster content.

Main Results:

• Participants in the curricular activity demonstrated significantly better performance on both the commercial examination (p=0.023) and the NAPLEX (p=0.033) compared to nonparticipants.
• Commercial examination scores significantly predicted 34% of the variance in NAPLEX scores.
• A high percentage of participating students (83%) and non-participating students (75-80%) found the activity beneficial for exam preparation and disease state summarization.

Conclusions:

• The integrated longitudinal curricular activity created a positive learning environment for all pharmacy students.
• The activity appears to have better prepared graduating students for the NAPLEX and other comprehensive assessments.
• Poster presentations serve as an effective tool for enhancing pharmacy student learning and exam preparedness.