Selecting pharmacy students with appropriate communication skills

American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, Spring 2000 by Jones, Janet, Krass, Ines, Holder, Gerald M, Robinson, Rosalie A

The results of the present study indicate that the three measures of verbal aptitude, STAT, MASUS and interview are correlated. As expected, there were associations between both the STAT verbal and STAT-total scores, and all four MASUS criteria and the interview. However, the STAT-quantitative score was related only to the STAT total and MASUS criterion D, grammatical correctness (see Table I). The STAT total score is a composite mark derived from the quantitative and verbal questions. Its significant association with the MASUS criteria, A, B and C, and the interview grade is obviously due to the contribution of the STAT-verbal questions to the STAT-total score. The association of criterion D with the STAT-quantitative score is probably related to the nature and method of presentation of the items in the STAT instrument. The quantitative items do not merely assess arithmetic skills but address mathematical reasoning skills through the use of text and tables or diagrams. To answer correctly, the candidate is required to read and interpret the text as well as the tables or diagrams. If the candidate has substantial grammatical weakness as detected by the MASUS instrument, they are more likely to misinterpret the question and give an incorrect response. The final school exit result was clearly unrelated to the interview and MASUS ratings except D (Table II), and although it was correlated with STAT scores, it does not have value as a predictor of communication ability. However, it should be noted that the range of TER values was narrow because entry to pharmacy is highly competitive, and those offered a position are in the top decile.

More than half of the students, who were deemed unsatisfactory at the interview, were unsatisfactory in at least three of the four MASUS criteria. It is perhaps not surprising that weaknesses with oral communication skills at an interview were reflected in the students' written communication skills. Although a large proportion of the cohort (about 60 percent) did not use English as the first language at home, nearly all of these students completed their schooling in English. This student profile is typical of cohorts of Australian university students in health sciences. The relationship between the students' language background and their academic performance was not the focus of this study. However, recent research indicates that tertiary students from non-English speaking backgrounds (NESB) experience difficulties with English which affect their academic performance(23-25).

The utility of the STAT verbal scores (ranging from 136178) and the STAT-total scores (ranging from 136-183) as predictors of communication abilities is particularly clearly indicated from the results of the logistic regression. For example an increase in the STAT verbal score of one is 12 percent more likely to be associated with a satisfactory interview (Table III), and is 11, 9, 17 and 24 percent more likely to be associated with satisfactory A, B, C, and D written communication skill criteria, respectively (Table IV). However, neither of the STAT scores was a significant predictor of first-year pharmacy performance (Table V). This could be partly explained by the fact that the tasks and assessment procedures that were applied for year one courses did not depend heavily on verbal skills. Moreover, none of the written communication skills criteria, apart from MASUS C, was a predictor of the WAM. In contrast to the STAT verbal and total scores, the quantitative score was a predictor and accounted for 8.9 percent of the variance in the WAM. Quantitative abilities are required for chemistry, mathematics, statistics and pharmaceutical science which together comprise about one half of the year one contact hours and assessment.