Satisfaction on the opportunities and employability skills received during the undergraduate period: A study of graduates of Allied Health Sciences Faculty in the University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka

Abstract

Health science graduate programmes have recently been established to fill gaps in the health care system by producing health care professionals. These graduates are produced providing wide range of opportunities and inculcating the employability skills for them to find an appropriate job, engage in it effectively and proceed in the future careers effectively. To evaluate the satisfaction of Allied Health Science (AHS) graduates on the opportunities and employability skills they received during the undergraduate period. A descriptive cross-sectional survey was carried out after obtaining ethical clearance from the Ethics Review Committee of the Faculty of Allied Health Sciences. The satisfaction on opportunities and employability skills received during the undergraduate period were obtained using a pretested questionnaire set on a Google form with five-point Likert scale to answer. It was distributed among all the graduates of the 1 st to 4th batches of each degree programme. The data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and Pearson‟s chi-square test using SPSS.25 version. Only 76 graduates responded. Of respondents, 12 (15.8%) were BSc Medical Laboratory Science (MLS) graduates, 48 (63.2%) were BSc Nursing graduates and 16 (21.1%) were B Pharmacy graduates. The majority (>70%) of the graduates highly satisfied about the knowledge and clinical/laboratory training they received. Majority of the graduates highly satisfied with all the skills while >90% satisfaction with the skills such as communication (90.8%), time management (90.8%), research (90.8%), teamwork (93.4%) and ethical awareness and responsibility (94.7%). Comparatively lower satisfaction (<60%) was observed for motivational, time management, and anger management skills. Furthermore, satisfaction on the skills; ethical awareness (p=0.005) (nursing; 100%, MLS; 75% and pharmacy 93.8%) and time management (p=0.005) (nursing; 93.8%, MLS; 75% and pharmacy 93.8%) were significantly associated with the degree programme demonstrating different satisfaction among the degree programmes. Majority of the AHS graduates of the University of Ruhuna highly satisfied with the opportunities and employability skills they received during their undergraduate period. The study findings will help to enhance the outcome of graduates of degree programmes and further investigation with serial graduates or alumni satisfaction surveys are recommended.