EVALUATION OF PHARMACY SCHOOL APPLICANTS WHOSE FIRST LANGUAGE IS NOT ENGLISH

The number of pharmacy applicants whose first language is not English (AFNE) appears to be increasing. Simultaneously, schools are preparing students to practice pharmaceutical care, a practice philosophy which relies upon effective communication skills. The goal of this study wa s to investigate whether first language status was relevant in predict ing success at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Pharma cy. Past admissions data were examined from previous VCU Pharmacy stud ents and compared to Pharmacy GPA or number of honors received in clin ical rotations using simple, multivariate, and logistic regression ana lysis. Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that the use of high school rank, or math GPA and verbal test scores were predictive of num ber of honors received in clinical rotations. The following variables were predictive of Pharmacy GPA when used in combination: PCAT biology , chemistry, and verbal scores, biology GPA, chemistry GPA, high schoo l rank, and SAT verbal score (race was marginally predictive). The stu dent's first language was not predictive of either the number of honor s received in clinical rotations or Pharmacy GPA, and was therefore no t a useful criterion for determining success in the Pharmacy curriculu m.