Appropriateness of the UNAM Bachelor of Pharmacy honours Degree curriculum and its implementation, to meet the perceived health needs of Namibia
| dc.contributor.author | Lates, Jenmifer A. | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2023-05-03T08:36:31Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2023-05-03T08:36:31Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2023 | |
| dc.description | A research thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Pharmacy (Pharmacy Practice) | en_US |
| dc.description.abstract | Since Independence in 1990 Namibia has struggled with a chronic shortage of pharmacists. To address this, a Bachelor of Pharmacy honours degree (BPharm) was developed and the first intake of BPharm students at UNAM was in 2011. This study is the first formal assessment of the appropriateness of the curriculum to the health needs of Namibia. A cross-sectional survey was shared with all registered pharmacists in Namibia, requesting them to rate the appropriateness of the BPharm modules to their field of pharmacy practice. Additionally, respondents rated the competence of UNAM BPharm graduates, if they had worked with them and made further comments on the appropriateness of the current curriculum. Internship assessment marks for 2016-2019 were also analysed. The survey was completed by 210 of 610 pharmacists registered in Namibia (34%). The mean appropriateness rating for 37 different modules ranged from 3.7 to 4.7 (scale: 1- not appropriate at all to 5-very appropriate). The mean rating of graduates’ perceived competence for the different domains ranged from 2.8 to 3.7 (scale: 1-not competent at all to 5-highly competent). Respondents’ comments suggested several enhancements to the current curriculum, with the most frequent suggestions being to strengthen business, management and leadership training. In relation to professional examinations, interns trained at UNAM performed better on the Legal assessment compared to interns trained elsewhere, but there was no significant difference between the two groups for the Calculation or Observed Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) assessments. Results suggest that the current BPharm curriculum is appropriate for Namibia’s health needs, though more emphasis needs to be placed on some key areas. It is recommended that the results of this study guide the UNAM BPharm curriculum transformation. This study also demonstrates a cost-effective method for critical assessment of health professions training curricula that can be utilised in resource-limited settings. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/11070/3665 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | en_US |
| dc.publisher | University of Namibia | en_US |
| dc.subject | Pharmacy | en_US |
| dc.subject | Curriculum | en_US |
| dc.subject | Health Needs | en_US |
| dc.subject | Competence | en_US |
| dc.title | Appropriateness of the UNAM Bachelor of Pharmacy honours Degree curriculum and its implementation, to meet the perceived health needs of Namibia | en_US |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_US |