(73) Impact of a Remediation Plan in a Pharmacotherapeutics Course Series

Objective : To describe a remediation plan and outcome for a pharmacotherapeutics course series in an accelerated PharmD program.

Methods: A remediation session was offered to students following each exam except the final. Students who earned less than or equal to 70% on an exam were required to attend the remediation session, which included a lecture portion and exam portion. All other students could attend remediation if they desired. During this remediation session, faculty reviewed course material related to the poorest performing exam questions. At the end of the session, a remediation exam was administered based on concepts reviewed, and students were able to earn additional points towards their exam grade. Endpoints assessed included progression rate, change in final course grade, and remediation session attendance.

Results: There were 110 students enrolled in the fall 2023 semester. Remediation allowed an additional 7 students to progress (105 versus 98 had remediation not occurred). The mean change in final grades was an increase of 1.92% for the entire class, with 55 students increased by half a letter grade and 55 having no grade change. Attendance was required for 59 students on exam 1 and 13 on exam 2, all of whom were present. Attendance among students for whom remediation was optional was 69% and 82% on exam 1 and 2, respectively.

Conclusions: This accelerated PharmD pharmacotherapeutics remediation plan led to an increase in student progression within the course series. Interestingly, high attendance was noted, even amongst students for whom the session was optional.