Keywords
Abstract
In the system of future specialists in pharmacy training, pharmacology occupies a transitional position between basic fundamental (biology, physiology with the basics of human anatomy, pathophysiology, biological chemistry, microbiology with the basics of immunology) and special subjects (pharmacotherapy, clinical pharmacy, pharmaceutical care). Pharmacology is quite justifiably considered an integral discipline that shapes the professional thinking of both pharmacists and doctors. Therefore, there is no doubt the importance of continuous improvement of teaching methods of pharmacology in institutions of higher medical and pharmaceutical education, as well as determining the success of mastering the discipline material as an universal indicator of the effectiveness of study. The aim of the work is to evaluate the success of pharmacology studies by future pharmacy specialists (domestic and foreign applicants for higher education) based on the results of analysis of final grades, scores for a written course exam and percent of correct answers in the discipline «Pharmacology» in the framework of the licensed test exam STEP-1 «Pharmacy», and also to develop a process model of activity for improving the quality of training in pharmacology. It was established that, in general, domestic applicants for higher pharmaceutical education make maximum efforts to pass the STEP-1 exam, which is determined by the best results of the STEP-1 exam compared to the current rating and course exam. Foreign applicants for higher pharmaceutical education have low current performance and worse than domestic students pass the licensed test exam STEP-1. Correlation analysis showed a statistically significant relationship between the current rating, the course exam and the percentage of correct answers of the STEP-1 test in pharmacology. However, domestic applicants for higher education had a stronger relationship between the current rating and the result of the STEP-1 exam, as well as the results of the course and licensing exams than foreign ones, which may indicate more attention to fundamental knowledge when preparing and passing the STEP-1 exam. A process model of activity for improving the success of pharmacology studies and increasing the pharmacological competence of future pharmacists in accordance with ISO 9001: 2015 is proposed.