Comparative Study on the Performance of 2nd Year and 3rd Year Medical Technology Students in the Clinical Parasitology Course at a University in Manila of the Academic Year 2019-2020

Abstract

The 2nd and 3rd year Medical Technology students at a university in Manila took up the Clinical Parasitology course in the same year due to the adjustments made in accommodating the new curriculum and the full implementation of the new K-12 program. By determining the students’ grades, academic workload, stressors present and stress levels, the study aimed to compare the performance of the 2nd and 3rd year BS Medical Technology students on their Clinical Parasitology course based on the shift of the educational system from the old to the new curriculum. A comparative-descriptive research design conducted through an online survey was used, and simple random sampling was implemented to select a total of 383 respondents for the study. SPSS was used for the statistical analysis of the data gathered from the online survey. Based on the results of the study, it was revealed that there was no significant difference between the workload from the old and new curriculum, and that both 2nd and 3rd year students prefer their own level’s course lineup better than the other. Furthermore, both year levels have the same course syllabus with the exception of two additional topics in the old curriculum. Moreover, comparing the students’ stress level intensity, both 2nd and 3rd year students were stressed while taking the Clinical Parasitology course, with quizzes serving as the most common stressor. Furthermore, it was also revealed that 2nd year BS Medical Technology students from the new curriculum have better academic performance than 3rd year BS Medical Technology students from the old curriculum in the Clinical Parasitology course. Curriculum change was attributed to the higher average grade and better academic performance of 2nd year BS Medical Technology students. However, there is a need for additional studies of the new curriculum since the majority of the students preferred their own course lineup that indicated a lack of information about the new curriculum.