Evaluating the impact of required attendance on examination performance and pharmacy student perceptions in an infectious diseases course

Objectives

This project sought to evaluate student pharmacist performance on infectious disease topics in a course with mandatory in-person attendance. The secondary objective was to evaluate student perceptions regarding required attendance and performance on specific course outcomes and session objectives.

Methods

Student attendance was collected manually by a faculty member during the infectious disease portion of a required pharmacotherapy course at University X and their exam performance data was evaluated. A t-test was used to compare the scores of students who regularly attended with those who did not for each assessment. An attendance survey was administered twice during the semester: at the midpoint and the end. Thirteen Likert-scale survey questions were designed to evaluate students' attitudes toward required attendance in the course and their beliefs about the impact of required attendance on their course performance and learning.

Results

Students who attended the class sessions for the course performed better on examinations than students who did not attend class sessions. The attendance perception survey results showed most students perceived mandatory attendance as beneficial to their learning and achieving the course objectives. Survey results indicated that the majority of students believed the in-class sessions were helpful for their learning. Most students did not believe that having required attendance reduced their time spent studying outside of class.

Conclusions

Mandatory attendance had a positive influence on student performance on assessments and their perceptions about learning in a pharmacotherapy course. The findings from the perceptions survey and examination performance support the implementation of required attendance in a Doctor of Pharmacy curriculum to improve student academic outcomes and professionalism.