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The impact of curricular revision on student performance in pharmacology assessments
Erin R Weeda1, Kelly M Quesnelle1
1University of South Carolina, School of Medicine Greenville, Greenville, SC, USA.
Aims:
We implemented changes to a medical school curriculum aimed at boosting active learning and integrated instruction. Using the second level of Kirkpatrick's model, we describe the impact of the curricular revision on student performance in pharmacology assessments.
Methods:
The analysis was divided into legacy (n = 105) and new (n = 110) curriculum students. The primary outcome was the proportion of students answering pharmacology summative assessment questions correctly.
Results:
The number of pharmacology hours in the first year increased from 20 to 88 but remained at ~60 in year two. The mean proportion of students answering pharmacology questions correctly was 89.4 (standard deviation [SD] = 10.9) in the legacy versus 87.2 (SD = 12.3) in the new curriculum (P = .10). The only difference in performance was year of study, with students performing better in year two (odds ratio for >90% correct = 2.127, 95% confidence interval = 1.220-3.709).
Conclusions:
An analytic review of pharmacology assessment items demonstrated curricular equivalency between the legacy and new curricula. Regardless of curricula, more favourable student performance was observed in year two.
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