Philippine E-Journals

Demystifying Student, Faculty and Administration Roles in University of the Immaculate Conception Pharmacist Licensure Exam Performance

Mary Jane G. Barluado | Renan P. Limjuco | Ma. Eva C. San Juan

 

Abstract:

A growing number of pharmacy schools vie to top the biannual pharmacist licensure examinations (PLE). In this qualitative action research, we used the phenomenology approach to explore the lived experiences and insights of 22 purposively selected students, graduates, and faculty of the University of the Immaculate Conception Pharmacy Program, in their journey towards taking the PLE, to develop action plans to sustain being a top performing pharmacy school in the country. We employed a triangulation of in-depth interviews and focus group discussions to gather the data. To establish trustworthiness of the study, we performed the informed consent process, member checks and debriefing, data saturation, and reflexivity. By Moustakas’ transcendental thematic data analysis, we generated eight themes on the participants’ experiences and insights on the PLE phenomenon. We translated these to the phenomenon’s essence which points to certain issues on student-faculty-admin interaction characteristics that individually, collectively, and consequentially impact overall PLE ratings. The findings formed basis for the formulated strategic action plans.