Open AccessMigration to online pharmacy education in Namibia: Successes, challenges and competence implications
Author(s) -
Dan Kibuule,
Jennie Lates,
Anthony Ishola,
Ester Hango,
Francis Kalemeera,
Michael G. Knott,
Daniel Mavu,
Bonifasius Siyuka Singu,
Timothy Rennie,
Irene Brinkmann,
Mwangana Mubita
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
pharmacy education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.198
H-Index - 17
eISSN - 1477-2701
pISSN - 1560-2214
DOI - 10.46542/pe.2020.202.174182
Subject(s) - pharmacy , online learning , bachelor , medical education , competence (human resources) , experiential learning , distance education , the internet , pharmacy education , covid-19 , telehealth , medicine , pharmacy practice , psychology , computer science , telemedicine , political science , nursing , health care , multimedia , pedagogy , world wide web , social psychology , disease , pathology , law , infectious disease (medical specialty)
Background: COVID-19, a global pandemic, has disrupted pharmacy education in Africa, due to unpreparedness to migrate to online Learning.Aim: To assess outcomes and challenges facing migration to online pharmacy education.Methods: An evaluation of implementation of online learning in the Bachelor of Pharmacy programme in Namibia using key informant feedback. The outcomes were outputs and challenges facing migration to online learning, and its impact on pass rates and scores.Results: The pooled mean score was higher in 2020 (66.2%), compared to 2019 (63.4%) and 2018 (62.1%), (p=0.076). A variety of platforms were used as alternatives or supplements to Moodle. The main challenges included inequalities in internet connectivity, monitoring and quality assurance, implementation of experiential learning, and reliability of online assessment.Conclusions: Whilst migration to online learning did not impact on pass rates, there is need for policies and systems to address programmatic challenges to eliminate inequalities in online pharmacy education.