A comparison of pharmacy technician experience, degree and major as predictors of academic performance between two racial groups at a historically black university

• Published in: Currents in pharmacy teaching and learning 2016-01, Vol.8 (1), p.112-118
• Main Authors: Tejada, Frederick R., Parmar, Jayesh R., Lang, Lynn A., Ghogomu, Joyceline
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Academic performance; African-American; Historically Black Colleges and universities (HBCU); Three-year pharmacy program
• ISSN: 1877-1297; 1877-1300
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cptl.2015.09.018

To compare the value of previous pharmacy technician experience, degree, and major as predictors of academic performance between African-American and non-African-American students at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore School of Pharmacy (UMES-SOP). Statistical analyses were conducted on the retrospective data of 201 students at UMES-SOP. The didactic assessment and experiential scores were used as measures of academic performance. Significant positive correlations were observed between: (1) type of major and first year (P1) didactic performance for African-American students and (2) prior pharmacy technician experience and both P1 and second year (P2) didactic performance for non-African-American students. Further, the models for the combination of all independent variables on P1 didactic performance showed significance for African-American students. The combination of prior pharmacy experience, degree, and type of major was a significant predictor of P1 didactic performance in African-American pharmacy students.