Impact of an undergraduate microbiology prerequisite on infectious disease coursework outcomes in an accelerated pharmacy curriculum: a retrospective observational cohort study.
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| Title: | Impact of an undergraduate microbiology prerequisite on infectious disease coursework outcomes in an accelerated pharmacy curriculum: a retrospective observational cohort study. |
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| Authors: | Smith, Troy J.1 (AUTHOR) tjsmith@wmcarey.edu, Nosser, Joseph1 (AUTHOR), Breese, Charles R.2 (AUTHOR), Burmeister, Melissa A.2 (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Frontiers in Education. 2026, p1-10. 10p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Prerequisites (Education), *Communicable diseases, *Pharmacy education, *Educational outcomes, *Curriculum planning, *Academic achievement, Microbiology |
| Abstract: | Introduction: To foster student success as well as mitigate declining enrollment, many pharmacy schools are revising their undergraduate prerequisite coursework to include only those courses deemed critical for academic preparedness. The present study assessed whether taking undergraduate microbiology is associated with improved academic outcomes in the infectious disease portion of the didactic curriculum at an accelerated, three-year, Doctor of Pharmacy program. It was hypothesized that prior exposure to microbiology would confer an academic advantage in terms of curricular outcomes. Methods: A curricular approach that incorporates a targeted overview of essential microbiology concepts was outlined. Course and programmatic outcomes for six student cohorts who matriculated between 2018 and 2023 and completed the didactic curriculum were evaluated, with comparisons made between students who had taken undergraduate microbiology and those who had not. Results: Final grades in infectious disease-related foundational science and pharmacotherapeutic courses, as well as grade point average (GPA) at the end of the first and second didactic year, were similar between groups. These observations suggest that an intentional curricular design that bridges potential gaps in knowledge base may be a stronger determinant of student success than prerequisite coursework alone. Discussion: These findings challenge the educational value of requiring microbiology prior to matriculation and provide some justification for not including it as a prerequisite, as it may serve as a barrier by placing unnecessary burdens on applicants. Further evaluation of course requirements pre-matriculation and curricular design post-matriculation is warranted to ensure optimal alignment with competencies most supportive of student success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Frontiers in Education is the property of Frontiers Media S.A. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
| FullText | Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: ehh DbLabel: Education Research Complete An: 194001664 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Impact of an undergraduate microbiology prerequisite on infectious disease coursework outcomes in an accelerated pharmacy curriculum: a retrospective observational cohort study. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Smith%2C+Troy+J%2E%22">Smith, Troy J.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> tjsmith@wmcarey.edu</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Nosser%2C+Joseph%22">Nosser, Joseph</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Breese%2C+Charles+R%2E%22">Breese, Charles R.</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Burmeister%2C+Melissa+A%2E%22">Burmeister, Melissa A.</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR) – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Frontiers+in+Education%22">Frontiers in Education</searchLink>. 2026, p1-10. 10p. – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Prerequisites+%28Education%29%22">Prerequisites (Education)</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Communicable+diseases%22">Communicable diseases</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Pharmacy+education%22">Pharmacy education</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+outcomes%22">Educational outcomes</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Curriculum+planning%22">Curriculum planning</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Academic+achievement%22">Academic achievement</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Microbiology%22">Microbiology</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: Introduction: To foster student success as well as mitigate declining enrollment, many pharmacy schools are revising their undergraduate prerequisite coursework to include only those courses deemed critical for academic preparedness. The present study assessed whether taking undergraduate microbiology is associated with improved academic outcomes in the infectious disease portion of the didactic curriculum at an accelerated, three-year, Doctor of Pharmacy program. It was hypothesized that prior exposure to microbiology would confer an academic advantage in terms of curricular outcomes. Methods: A curricular approach that incorporates a targeted overview of essential microbiology concepts was outlined. Course and programmatic outcomes for six student cohorts who matriculated between 2018 and 2023 and completed the didactic curriculum were evaluated, with comparisons made between students who had taken undergraduate microbiology and those who had not. Results: Final grades in infectious disease-related foundational science and pharmacotherapeutic courses, as well as grade point average (GPA) at the end of the first and second didactic year, were similar between groups. These observations suggest that an intentional curricular design that bridges potential gaps in knowledge base may be a stronger determinant of student success than prerequisite coursework alone. Discussion: These findings challenge the educational value of requiring microbiology prior to matriculation and provide some justification for not including it as a prerequisite, as it may serve as a barrier by placing unnecessary burdens on applicants. Further evaluation of course requirements pre-matriculation and curricular design post-matriculation is warranted to ensure optimal alignment with competencies most supportive of student success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Frontiers in Education is the property of Frontiers Media S.A. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.3389/feduc.2026.1819417 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 10 StartPage: 1 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Prerequisites (Education) Type: general – SubjectFull: Communicable diseases Type: general – SubjectFull: Pharmacy education Type: general – SubjectFull: Educational outcomes Type: general – SubjectFull: Curriculum planning Type: general – SubjectFull: Academic achievement Type: general – SubjectFull: Microbiology Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Impact of an undergraduate microbiology prerequisite on infectious disease coursework outcomes in an accelerated pharmacy curriculum: a retrospective observational cohort study. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Smith, Troy J. – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Nosser, Joseph – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Breese, Charles R. – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Burmeister, Melissa A. IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 25 M: 05 Text: 2026 Type: published Y: 2026 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 2504284X Titles: – TitleFull: Frontiers in Education Type: main |
| ResultId | 1 |
