Impact of pharmacy experience, GPA, age, education, and therapeutic review on knowledge retention and clinical confidence

Abstract

ObjectivesThe objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of pharmacy work experience, pre-pharmacy grade point average, age, level of education, and additional therapeutic review on knowledge retention of second-year pharmacy students. The secondary objective was to assess the correlation of knowledge retention with clinical confidence. MethodsIn a cross-sectional study of second-year pharmacy students, two surveys were administered. Demographic information and clinical confidence related to 18 primary therapeutic topics and 20 general subtopics were elicited. An assessment was then administered to evaluate retention of knowledge. All questions were based on concepts covered earlier in the therapeutics curriculum. ResultsA total of 116 students (26 males and 90 females) were included in the analysis. GPA, total work experience, average hours worked, prior work experience, and therapeutic discussion had a significant correlation with knowledge retention as determined by examination performance. Regression analysis revealed a correlation between GPA, average hours worked, confidence in evaluating patient laboratory values, and examination performance. Clinical confidence in the primary topics of angina, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, dermatitis, and over-the-counter gastroesophageal reflux disease medications had significant correlation with knowledge retention (p < 0.05), as did the subtopics of drug dosing, drug class, mechanism of action, drugs to avoid, drug information resources (p < 0.05), and active ingredients (p < 0.001). ConclusionPharmacy work experience, pre-pharmacy GPA, participation in extracurricular therapeutic discussions, and interpretation of patient laboratory information were predictive factors for retention of knowledge. Clinical confidence of second-year pharmacy students did not correlate with knowledge retention.