Finding significant indicators of PharmD academic performance to impact future students

Area of Science:

• Pharmacy Education
• Higher Education Research
• Student Success Metrics

Background:

• Academic performance in Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) programs is crucial for future practitioners.
• Identifying predictive factors beyond traditional metrics is essential for student success.
• Understanding the role of non-cognitive factors like grit and resilience is gaining importance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine objective and subjective factors from student pharmacists' backgrounds related to academic performance.
• To investigate the correlation between student background variables and success in a PharmD program.

Main Methods:

• A survey was administered to 251 student pharmacists in their first three professional years in Texas.
• Data collected included undergraduate background, work experience, grit, and academic resilience.
• Statistical analyses (Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis, Spearman's correlations) were used to assess relationships with cumulative GPA.

Main Results:

• Weak positive and significant correlations were found between cumulative GPA and Grit scores.
• Weak positive and significant correlations were observed between cumulative GPA and Resilience scores.
• A moderate positive and significant relationship existed between student pharmacists' Grit and Resilience scores.

Conclusions:

• Grit and Resilience scores show a significant positive relationship with academic performance in PharmD programs.
• Assessing Grit and Resilience during admissions may help identify students likely to succeed academically.
• Developing Grit and Resilience within the PharmD curriculum could potentially improve overall student academic outcomes.