Effectiveness of Theoretical and Practical Courses in the Pharmacy Program: Feedback of Pharmacy Undergraduate Students

Abstract

Background: The practical courses are considered critical for the development of skills and competency in the students taking professional programs such as bachelor in pharmaceutical sciences.  The curriculum of pharmacy needs continuing revision and assessment to effectively equip the students with the required skills and with the human values that are needed to become effective and responsible professionals. The feedback of stakeholders including students remain central to revision and updation of professional programs.

Objective: The objective of the present study was to investigate pharmacy undergraduate students' views regarding the effectiveness of theoretical and practical courses in the pharmacy program in Al Kharj, Saudi Arabia.

Methods: This study included a survey that was developed based on a literature review related to effectiveness of theoretical and practical courses. The data was collected using google form and the descriptive data were represented as a numbers and percentages.

Results: Over 71% students agreed that the courses with practical were comparatively more interesting than the courses that include only theoretical part. Additionally, more than 73% of the students agreed that the practical part helped them to understand the concepts of the course in better way. Only 26.53% of the students agreed that if the course containing theoretical only, it will be difficult to understand effectively and only 22.45% agreed that the courses containing practical only were difficult to understand effectively.

Conclusion: The study showed that pharmacy students had more interest in the practical learning as compared to theoretical learning. Pharmacy schools should ensure that their undergraduate pharmacy programs include enough credit hours of practical courses.