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Exploring pharmacy students' perceptions on curriculum enhancements in a foundation of pharmacology course: A qualitative study.

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Τίτλος: Exploring pharmacy students' perceptions on curriculum enhancements in a foundation of pharmacology course: A qualitative study.
Συγγραφείς: Hussain FN; College of Pharmacy, QU Health Sector, Qatar University, Qatar., Al-Hajri M; College of Pharmacy, QU Health Sector, Qatar University, Qatar., Jawad S; College of Pharmacy, QU Health Sector, Qatar University, Qatar., Magdy N; College of Pharmacy, QU Health Sector, Qatar University, Qatar., Soltani A; QU Health Sector, Qatar University, Qatar., Maayah Z; College of Pharmacy, QU Health Sector, Qatar University, Qatar., ElGeed H; College of Pharmacy, QU Health Sector, Qatar University, Qatar. Electronic address: h.elgeed@qu.edu.qa.
Πηγή: Currents in pharmacy teaching & learning [Curr Pharm Teach Learn] 2026 Oct; Vol. 18 (10), pp. 102723. Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Jun 18.
Τύπος έκδοσης: Journal Article
Γλώσσα: English
Στοιχεία περιοδικού: Publisher: Elsevier Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 101560815 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1877-1300 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 18771297 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Curr Pharm Teach Learn Subsets: MEDLINE
Imprint Name(s): Original Publication: New York : Elsevier
Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): Curriculum*/standards , Curriculum*/trends , Students, Pharmacy*/psychology , Students, Pharmacy*/statistics & numerical data , Pharmacology*/education , Perception*, Education, Pharmacy/methods ; Education, Pharmacy/standards ; Focus Groups/methods ; Educational Measurement/methods ; Humans ; Qualitative Research ; Female ; Male
Περίληψη: Introduction: Pharmacology is often perceived by students as a challenging discipline within health professions curricula. Introducing a foundations course early, using a scaffolding approach, may help students build a stronger knowledge base and progressively engage with more complex pharmacological concepts. While integrated and modular curricula are increasingly adopted to reduce compartmentalized learning, there remains a risk that discipline-specific competencies, such as pharmacology, may be overlooked. This research aimed to explore pharmacy students' perceptions of how a scaffolding approach in a foundation of pharmacology course supported their pharmacology knowledge development, and how the course influenced their preparedness for learning subsequent pharmacology concepts.
Methods: The foundations of pharmacology course learning objectives and course content were revised to introduce basic pharmacological concepts earlier in the curriculum. Six focus-group-interviews were conducted with twenty-four undergraduate pharmacy students to explore their perceptions on how the revised course supported their foundational pharmacology knowledge. The data were analysed by inductive thematic analysis.
Results: Four key themes emerged from the analysis: (1) appropriate placement of the course within the curriculum, (2) students' readiness to apply course content, (3) teaching strategies and course execution, (4) opportunities for course enhancement. Students had positive perceptions on the revised curriculum, which enhanced their understanding of complex pharmacological concepts. Students appreciated learning foundational pharmacology principles in their first professional year, as it allowed them to progressively build on their pharmacology knowledge and transfer this knowledge to other pharmacy subjects.
Conclusions: This study found that students favoured a foundation of pharmacology course introduced early in the curriculum using a scaffolding approach. These findings highlight the importance of sequencing and scaffolding in pharmacology education and provide insights to inform future curriculum design.
(Copyright © 2026 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Contributed Indexing: Keywords: Curriculum; Education; Pharmacology
Entry Date(s): Date Created: 20260618 Date Completed: 20260817 Latest Revision: 20260817
Update Code: 20260818
DOI: 10.1016/j.cptl.2026.102723
PMID: 42314524
Βάση Δεδομένων: MEDLINE
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  Data: Exploring pharmacy students' perceptions on curriculum enhancements in a foundation of pharmacology course: A qualitative study.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AU" term="%22Hussain+FN%22">Hussain FN</searchLink>; College of Pharmacy, QU Health Sector, Qatar University, Qatar.<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AU" term="%22Al-Hajri+M%22">Al-Hajri M</searchLink>; College of Pharmacy, QU Health Sector, Qatar University, Qatar.<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AU" term="%22Jawad+S%22">Jawad S</searchLink>; College of Pharmacy, QU Health Sector, Qatar University, Qatar.<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AU" term="%22Magdy+N%22">Magdy N</searchLink>; College of Pharmacy, QU Health Sector, Qatar University, Qatar.<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AU" term="%22Soltani+A%22">Soltani A</searchLink>; QU Health Sector, Qatar University, Qatar.<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AU" term="%22Maayah+Z%22">Maayah Z</searchLink>; College of Pharmacy, QU Health Sector, Qatar University, Qatar.<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AU" term="%22ElGeed+H%22">ElGeed H</searchLink>; College of Pharmacy, QU Health Sector, Qatar University, Qatar. Electronic address: h.elgeed@qu.edu.qa.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22101560815%22">Currents in pharmacy teaching & learning</searchLink> [Curr Pharm Teach Learn] 2026 Oct; Vol. 18 (10), pp. 102723. <i>Date of Electronic Publication: </i>2026 Jun 18.
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  Data: Introduction: Pharmacology is often perceived by students as a challenging discipline within health professions curricula. Introducing a foundations course early, using a scaffolding approach, may help students build a stronger knowledge base and progressively engage with more complex pharmacological concepts. While integrated and modular curricula are increasingly adopted to reduce compartmentalized learning, there remains a risk that discipline-specific competencies, such as pharmacology, may be overlooked. This research aimed to explore pharmacy students' perceptions of how a scaffolding approach in a foundation of pharmacology course supported their pharmacology knowledge development, and how the course influenced their preparedness for learning subsequent pharmacology concepts.<br />Methods: The foundations of pharmacology course learning objectives and course content were revised to introduce basic pharmacological concepts earlier in the curriculum. Six focus-group-interviews were conducted with twenty-four undergraduate pharmacy students to explore their perceptions on how the revised course supported their foundational pharmacology knowledge. The data were analysed by inductive thematic analysis.<br />Results: Four key themes emerged from the analysis: (1) appropriate placement of the course within the curriculum, (2) students' readiness to apply course content, (3) teaching strategies and course execution, (4) opportunities for course enhancement. Students had positive perceptions on the revised curriculum, which enhanced their understanding of complex pharmacological concepts. Students appreciated learning foundational pharmacology principles in their first professional year, as it allowed them to progressively build on their pharmacology knowledge and transfer this knowledge to other pharmacy subjects.<br />Conclusions: This study found that students favoured a foundation of pharmacology course introduced early in the curriculum using a scaffolding approach. These findings highlight the importance of sequencing and scaffolding in pharmacology education and provide insights to inform future curriculum design.<br /> (Copyright © 2026 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)
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  Data: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
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