Sydney Pharmacy School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, 2006, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Charles Perkin Centre, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney NSW, 2006, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
BMC Med Educ. 2024 Apr 19;24(1):421. doi: 10.1186/s12909-024-05327-z.
This study aimed to understand the key determinants for poor academic performance of students completing a Bachelor of Pharmacy (BPharm), Bachelor of Pharmacy and Management (BPharmMgmt), or Master of Pharmacy (MPharm) degree.
Data were collected on pharmacy students who had not met academic progression requirements between 2008 and 2018 at The University of Sydney, Australia. This included: age at the start of pharmacy degree; gender; whether they transferred from another university; whether they were a domestic or international student; Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank upon entry, previous studies in biology, chemistry, or mathematics; show cause triggers (units of study failed); number of show causes; students' written show cause responses; weighted average mark at last show cause or graduation; whether they graduated and were a registered pharmacist; and, the number of years they spent studying the degree. Descriptive studies were used to analyse student characteristics using SPSS software, and student self-reported reasons for poor performance were analysed reflexively using thematic analysis procedures using NVivo.
This study included 164 pharmacy students enrolled in a BPharm (79.3%, n = 130), BPharmMgmt (1.2%, n = 2), or MPharm (19.5%, n = 32). Of the students, 54% (n = 88) were men, 81% (n = 133) were domestic students, 15% (n = 24) transferred from another degree program, and 38% (n = 62) graduated from the course. Show cause students were less likely to graduate if they transferred from another degree program (P = 0.0002) or failed more than three units of study (UoS; P < 0.0001). The most commonly failed UoS were related to organic or pharmaceutical chemistry, and the top student self-reported reasons for poor performance was stress/anxiety, physical health, and depression.
Pharmacy schools should aim to address student foundational knowledge in chemistry, identify at-risk students early using pre-subject testing, and provide better services to address student mental health.
本研究旨在了解未能达到学业进展要求的药学学士（BPharm）、药学与管理学士（BPharmMgmt）或药学硕士（MPharm）学位学生学习成绩不佳的关键决定因素。
本研究收集了自 2008 年至 2018 年期间在澳大利亚悉尼大学未能达到学业进展要求的药学专业学生的数据。这些数据包括：药学学位开始时的年龄；性别；是否从其他大学转来；是否为国内或国际学生；入学时的澳大利亚高等教育入学排名（Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank，ATAR）；之前在生物学、化学或数学方面的学习情况；学术警示（units of study failed）触发因素；学术警示次数；学生书面学术警示回应；最后一次学术警示或毕业时的加权平均绩点；是否毕业并成为注册药剂师；以及攻读学位所需的年数。使用 SPSS 软件对学生特征进行描述性研究分析，使用 NVivo 对学生自我报告的学习成绩不佳原因进行反思性主题分析。
本研究共纳入 164 名药学专业学生，其中 BPharm 学生占 79.3%（n=130），BPharmMgmt 学生占 1.2%（n=2），MPharm 学生占 19.5%（n=32）。其中，54%（n=88）为男性，81%（n=133）为国内学生，15%（n=24）从其他学位课程转来，38%（n=62）从课程毕业。如果学生从其他学位课程转来（P=0.0002）或失败超过三门课程（units of study，UoS；P<0.0001），则学术警示学生更不可能毕业。最常失败的 UoS 与有机或制药化学有关，学生自我报告的学习成绩不佳的主要原因是压力/焦虑、身体健康和抑郁。
药学学校应致力于解决学生化学基础知识薄弱的问题，通过预学科测试尽早识别出有风险的学生，并提供更好的服务来解决学生的心理健康问题。
