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Preregistration exam
Why was the pass rate so low?
From Mr I. G. Will, MRPharmS
Most preregistration pharmacy graduates who did not pass the summer 2003
examination will now have passed the autumn examination. The pass rate
in the summer examination was around 82 per cent nationally, a considerable
drop from the same examination last year, which had a pass rate of about
95 per cent. The Society has apparently been unable to comment on this.
Has there been an inquiry into the reasons for the large failure rate?
After all, all these graduates had obtained a pharmacy degree and been
deemed “competent” by their tutors. This high failure rate
no doubt knocked the confidence of the candidates, as well as leaving
many with no job until after the next examination.
It is Society policy not to issue copies of the examination to graduates.
They are referred to sample examination questions, and to sections of
the student’s manual, in which weakness had been displayed. Is
there really a problem with showing the actual examination?
In addition, a breakdown of the area of practice in which the student
was working would be useful, eg, was there a higher failure rate in those
working for independent pharmacies, for multiples or in hospital or industrial
practice? This may give an indication of where assistance is needed.
Or was it simply a bad examination? Any educational establishment that
had such a huge drop in the pass rate should be asking itself what went
wrong.
The summer examination took three weeks to mark — certainly there
was a large number of candidates. The pass list for the autumn examination
indicated a considerably lower number of candidates. Why does it still
take three weeks to issue the pass list?
Our students were informed that they had passed, by post and by internet,
on Friday 17 October. A weekend with extra help loomed, only for our
hopes to be dashed by the fact that no registration number was issued.
In fact the plans we made for the week commencing 20 October were far
from clear, as well, since the Society’s policy is not to issue
registration numbers until Monday. Why can the number not be given with
the pass notice?
Perhaps the Society is too engrossed in the revised Royal Charter to
think about the regular daily concerns of its members. “Fiddling
while Rome burns” springs to mind.
Ian Will
Aberdeen
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Dr ROBERT DEWDNEY, head, education division, Royal Pharmaceutical
Society, replies:
Trainees and tutors should refer to their preregistration
manuals and bulletins for accurate and complete information about
the examination, including the method and timing of furnishing
of results, and for concurrent or subsequent registration.
Each year we meet what we say we are going to do — there is no excuse for
employers, tutors and trainees “not being clear” in their planning.
We regard our three-week turnaround as the minimum for proper process and quality
assurance. |
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