How the admission criteria to a competitive-entry undergraduate programme could be improved

The introduction of a new standards-based secondary school assessment system, the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA), necessitated significant changes to the admissions processes for New Zealand universities, particularly for competitive-entry programmes such as medicine, engineering and pharmacy. Selection to such programmes was traditionally based on marks or grades in designated science subjects. Under NCEA, the emphasis changed to the number of credits obtained. This article uses the case of pharmacy at The University of Auckland to examine whether the admission criteria under NCEA are ‘fit for purpose’ in terms of academic progression during the degree. The negative consequences of students having to repeat courses are both academic and financial. Using data from six cohorts of NCEA entrants to the Bachelor of Pharmacy (BPharm) degree, the findings of this study clearly suggest that the best predictor of course success, measured by not failing courses, is the NCEA Grade Point Average. This is at variance with the current practice for admission to pharmacy and other limited-entry degrees which rely on prerequisite courses and the number of NCEA Credits gained. These results suggest that a reappraisal of admissions processes for pharmacy and similar programmes is required.     

药学专业实践教学模式的改革与实践

四川大学华西药学院加大实践教学模式的改革,多项措施并举,构建多层次实践教学模式、开设药学创新实验、开展内涵丰富的实践活动、实施科研训练"三大计划"、加强实践基地建设等,实践表明,这种多层次、多模块药学创新实践教学模式,有力地促进了学生从被动接受型向主动探索型转变,从而为如何培养药学创新人才作出有益的探索。     

Remote learning during Covid-19 lockdown: A study on anatomy and histology education for pharmacy students in Jordan

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed almost all aspects of education. The anatomy and histology courses for pharmacy students focus heavily on the face-to-face communication of theory and practical knowledge, and due to the pandemic, only theory content was delivered in an online format. This brought up many concerns about pharmacy student preparedness. This work explores the effectiveness and student perspective of remote teaching of the theoretical anatomy and histology course in Jordanian universities from the perspective of pharmacy students. The objectives are to determine the strengths, challenges, and the effectiveness of remote delivery on student learning. An online-based validated questionnaire was distributed to students majoring in Pharmacy and enrolled in the course during the second semester of 2019–2020 at 11 universities in Jordan. A total of 442 students participated in the study. Results showed that there were significant differences in perceptions of the social media platforms used in distance learning and remote delivery of the course. Most participants had positive perceptions of the educational process and studying via distance learning. There were many strengths noted including time flexibility and several challenges such as the lack of face-to-face interaction with instructors, inadequate internet connectivity, and technical issues. In conclusion, online-taught anatomy and histology course during the Covid-19 lockdown in Jordan was a success as perceived by students, but the course still possessed challenges need to be overcome in the future.     

协同育人模式下高职本科专业课程体系构建研究与实践--以广东食品药品职业学院药学专业为例

高职本科协同育人试点改革成为当前本科层次职业教育最为主要的途径。开展高职本科协同育人试点,开展高职本科专业课程体系构建研究与实践,是培养高素质技术技能人才,提升人才培养质量的现实需要。调研表明,我国执业药师数量短缺,传统专业毕业生所掌握的知识与技能不能很好地满足社会的需求。因此,高职本科协同育人试点专业应该对普通本科与高职教育的课程体系进行改革,推动基础理论知识学习与实践教学有机结合,适当增加实践教学课时,促进学生设计与研发能力和职业岗位技能的有效提升。