Philippine E-Journals

FACTORS AFFECTING PHARMACISTS LICENSURE EXAMINATION PERFORMANCE AT LOCAL UNIVERSITY IN THE NCR: BRIDGING THE GAPS

Charina M. Ancheta | Hanna Lace F. Donato | John Christian R. Varona | Maria Fay Nenette M. Cariaga

 

Abstract:

Passing the licensure examination leads a candidate to earn his or her license to practice the profession. The Professional Regulatory Board of Pharmacy has the ultimate responsibility to ensure that the examination meets technical, professional, and legal standards, and, thus, protecting the health, safety and welfare of the public by assessing candidates’ entry level competencies. For the past years, the national passing rates of Pharmacists Licensure Examination (PLE) in the country did not go beyond 70%. Fortunately, the passing rates of a local university in the NCR range from 92 - 100% from the year 2016 to 2019. The study aimed to find out factors that may have affected the performance of the alumni who took and passed the PLE from the year 2016 to 2019. Quantitative method particularly survey research, supplemented with qualitative inputs was employed. This study utilized researcher-made tool that was adopted from the draft PACOP Survey Questionnaire. Said tool has undergone further content validation and reliability testing (Cronbach’s alpha 0.860). This local university in the NCR has a total of 71 BS Pharmacy alumni, however, only 38 out of 71 (53.52%) gave their full consent to participate in this research. Results showed that distractions in the site of examination and alignment of examination questions with curricular delivery have affected the test-taking experience and performance in the PLE, of the alumni of a local university in the NCR. Action plan was created to address the said gaps.