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. 2025 Jul 22;25(1):1096.
doi: 10.1186/s12909-025-07686-7.

Core competencies in pharmaceutical education: a Chinese student perspective

Juan Chen  1   2 , Xiaohang Zhao  3 , Jiayu Li  1 , Wei Chen  4 , Cheng Jiang  5 , Xinran Wang  6
Affiliations

Core competencies in pharmaceutical education: a Chinese student perspective

Juan Chen et al. BMC Med Educ. .

Abstract

Background: From the students' perspective, the research evaluates their views on core competencies and their own developmental needs within pharmaceutical education, attempting to explore potential pathways for optimizing students' core competencies. This study seeks to enhance students' core competencies, enrich learning and development theories, and establish a basis and reference for cultivating high-caliber pharmaceutical talents.

Methods: Establishing a core competency index system for pharmacy major, a survey questionnaire comprising 41 items across four dimensions (knowledge, skills, abilities, and values) was designed. Using stratified cluster sampling, 919 valid responses were collected. Descriptive statistics, variance analysis, and chi-square test were used to analyze the perceptions of pharmaceutical students on core competencies' importance for professional growth and their satisfaction with teaching, and to examine disparities in the development of core competencies among different groups of students.

Results: The study revealed deficiencies in pharmaceutical students' core competencies regarding artificial intelligence, pharmaceutical application, medical care, etc. Differential analysis indicated that significant differences across education levels: undergraduates prioritized foundational knowledge and ethical norms, while postgraduates emphasized project-based learning and ability improvement. Students with work or project experience placed higher value on knowledge application, systematic thinking, strategic capabilities, and innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence.

Conclusion: This study evaluates pharmaceutical core competency education from the student perspective, revealing their perceptions of developmental requirements. The research proposes an optimization pathway: the curriculum reform of pharmaceutical higher education should be scientific, general, innovative, practical and humanistic, thereby providing a reference for reforming pharmaceutical higher education.

Keywords: Abilities; Core competencies; Curriculum development; Development pathway; Higher education reform; Knowledge; Skills; Student perspective; Values.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: Ethical approval for the study was obtained from the ethics committee of China Pharmaceutical University (Approval Date. CPU-2024047). Our research strictly adhered to the Helsinki Declaration, all original studies have been approved by the corresponding ethical review board, and the participants provided their informed consent. In addition, no individual-level data were used in this study. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Clinical trial number: Not applicable.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Analysis of Students’ Deficiencies in 10 Core Knowledge Areas of Pharmaceutical Core Competencies
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Analysis of Students’ Deficiencies in 12 Core Skills of Pharmaceutical Core Competencies
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Analysis of Students’ Deficiencies in 13 Core Abilities of Pharmaceutical Core Competencies
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Analysis of Students’ Deficiencies in 6 Core Values of Pharmaceutical Core Competencies
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