Exploring the experiences and expectations of pharmacist interns in large general hospitals in China: from the perspective of interns

Building a Hospital Pharmacist Workforce by a Diversified and Position-Oriented Learning System

Background

The role of hospital pharmacists has shifted from primarily ensuring drug supply to providing comprehensive pharmaceutical care. To accommodate this shift, new positions are needed. The traditional training model for hospital pharmacists is no longer sufficient for the evolving demands of pharmaceutical care and these new roles. This study aimed to describe the development of a position-oriented learning system explicitly tailored for hospital pharmacists and to assess its impact on workforce development and pharmacy service.

Methods

The position-oriented learning system for hospital pharmacists, aimed at enhancing training and workforce development, was evaluated based on two critical criteria: the completion rate of learning modules and the subsequent improvement in pharmaceutical care at the hospital. The completion rate assessed the engagement and effectiveness of the training content. At the same time, the improvement in pharmaceutical care evaluated practical outcomes such as percentages of patients who received pharmaceutical care and percentages of inappropriate medication orders intercepted.

Results

In 2021, 218 employees participated in the learning system. The pharmacy department has identified 22 pharmacists for various positions through this system. The quantity and quality of pharmaceutical care have improved significantly.

Conclusion

The position-oriented diversified learning system achieves the perfect combination of department development direction and individual career planning of employees. The learning system can significantly improve the learning efficiency of pharmacists, enhance the quality of various pharmaceutical care, and promote the development of disciplines.

Hospital pharmacists' mental health during home isolation in the post-pandemic era of COVID-19: influencing factors, coping strategies, and the mediating effect of resilience

Objective

There is a notable research gap on the mental health challenges faced by hospital pharmacists in the post-pandemic era. Therefore, the present study aims to explore mental health status, influencing factors, coping strategies, and the mediating effect of resilience of home quarantine hospital pharmacists (HQHPs).

Methods

An embedded mixed-method study was conducted in Zhengzhou, a megalopolis in central China, from 20 October to 3 November 2022. For the qualitative study, semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions were conducted among HQHPs to understand their mental health state，the factors that affect their mental health, and the alleviating strategies they used. For the quantitative study, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) and the Chinese version of the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-25) were used to explore the mental health level of HQHPs. Meanwhile, the mediating effect of resilience was explored and verified with the bootstrap method or the structural equation model.

Results

20 HQHPs participated in the qualitative study. Two themes were identified in terms of the factors that influenced the HQHPs' mental health levels. The positive factors include optimism, family company, and connection with friends, while the negative factors include inadequate supplies, inadequate information, and other emergencies. 210 HQHPs participated in the quantitative study, with a median resilience score of 66 [55.75, 74] in the lowest score range and an anxiety score of 5 [2, 7] in the mild anxiety range. The correlation analysis showed that nine of the 10 influencing factors identified in qualitative research were positively correlated with CD-RISC-25 scores and negatively correlated with the GAD-7 score. The mediating effect of resilience on anxiety was significant (95% bootstrap CI [-1.818, -0.384], p<0.001; or 95% bootstrap CI [-1.174, -0.430], p<0.001).

Conclusion

Even in the post-epidemic era, hospital pharmacists face psychological challenges. They actively address these issues based on accumulated experience and a stabilized mindset. In this process, resilience plays a significant mediating role.

Exploring the problems and coping strategies of pharmacy internship in large general hospitals in China: from the perspective of preceptors

OBJECTIVE

The role of the Hospital Pharmacy Preceptor (HPP) is pivotal in upholding the excellence of experiential training and fostering the professional growth of pharmacy interns. However, there is a lack of studies that provide an overview of pharmacy internships from the perspective of HPP. This study explores the experience and expectations of HPPs regarding existing problems and possible coping strategies in intern teaching.

METHODS

This is a qualitative study that was conducted through individual interviews and focus group discussions. HPPs were invited as participants from large-scale tertiary hospitals in representative provinces of mainland China. Interview and focus group discussion data were analyzed using thematic analysis to see emerging themes from the data. Nvivo 12 was utilized for data management and processing.

RESULTS

Eight individual interviews and two focus group discussions were conducted, involving 14 HPPs as participants. Upon the examination of the interviews and focus group data, four themes were summarized regarding HPPs' perceptions: 1) current presenting problems; 2) possible coping strategies; 3) something HPPs should do; 4) something interns should do.

CONCLUSION

This study found that from the HPPs' perspective, the hospital-based pharmacy internship still has some problems from policy to practice, which need to be addressed by the joint efforts of the state, schools, internship bases, pharmacy preceptors, and students.

Exploring the motivation of self-directed learning of hospital pharmacists: a multicentre qualitative study

OBJECTIVE

Self-directed learning (SDL) has been embraced by the medical community as a core professional competency, with motivation considered a crucial component of SDL. However, little is known about how hospital pharmacists perceive motivation in SDL in the workplace. This study aimed to examine the intrinsic and external motivation of hospital pharmacists in SDL.

DESIGN

This study employed a multicentre qualitative design, which lasted 13 months from May 2020 to June 2021. The interviews were audiorecorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed in NVivo V.12.0. Thematic analysis method was used to analyse the data.

SETTING

The study took place in nine public hospitals located in urban areas of Henan Province.

PARTICIPANTS

Sixteen hospital pharmacists were enrolled from the pharmacy departments of the sample hospitals, using a purposive sampling method.

RESULTS

Sixteen one-on-one semistructured interviews were conducted, identifying intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in SDL for hospital pharmacists in the workplace. Intrinsic motivation includes curiosity and interest, achievement, self-efficacy and personal growth. Extrinsic motivation includes a more comprehensive set of elements, such as interpersonal motivations, work-related motivations and career-related motivations.

CONCLUSIONS

Personal interests, the influence of surrounding individuals (directly or indirectly), work-related requirements and pressures, and professional development requirements and pressures are the main intrinsic or extrinsic motivations for SDL among hospital pharmacists in China. Future research may focus on these aspects to enhance the SDL competence of hospital pharmacists and other medical personnel.

Insights into participation in ward rounds in hospitals: A survey of clinical pharmacists' perceptions

Introduction

Clinical pharmacists' participation in ward rounds (WRs) has been a great chance to contribute to team-based care in the hospital setting and significantly improve patient outcomes and quality of life. Hence, the objective of this investigation was to explore the perceptions of clinical pharmacists in Yemen regarding their participation in WRs and the factors influencing their involvement.

Methods

An online survey of Yemeni clinical pharmacists was conducted and lasted for two months. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the survey responses.

Results

a total of 120 participants were involved. About 3 out of 10 pharmacists had not previously participated in WRs, with only 30% having always or most of the time participated in word rounds alongside physicians. The results showed a positive perception of WR participation, with a median and IQR of 5(4-5). However, a lack of awareness of WR roles and the time-consuming nature of participation were the reasons for non-involvement.

Conclusion

The study highlights the positive perceptions of Yemeni clinical pharmacists towards ward rounds, but emphasises the need to address awareness and time constraints. Emphasising patient-centered care and longer internship durations can improve clinical pharmacist involvement. Future research should focus on optimising clinical pharmacist participation for better patient outcomes and care quality.

What learning strategies are commonly used by hospital pharmacists in the process of self-directed learning? A multicentre qualitative study

OBJECTIVE

As lifelong learners, hospital pharmacists must continually improve their self-directed learning skills. Reasonable learning strategies have been proven to enhance self-directed learning (SDL) significantly. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the SDL strategies used by hospital pharmacists in depth to provide them with a reference for the development of their SDL skills.

SETTING

The study was conducted in three tertiary hospitals in Henan, China.

DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS

This study employed a multicentre qualitative design and lasted 12 months. One-on-one interviews and focus group discussions were used to collect data. All interviews were transcribed verbatim, and the interview data were analysed using the thematic analysis method. Purposive sampling was used to select interviewees (n=17) from three tertiary hospitals in Henan province in central China.

RESULTS

After conducting data analysis, we summarised 12 learning strategies related to SDL, which were grouped into four themes: use of information resources, application of cognitive strategies, development of learning plans and use of learning platforms.

CONCLUSION

The findings suggest that classic learning strategies, such as cognitive strategies and the development of learning plans, remain the cornerstones of hospital pharmacists' SDL abilities, while contemporary advances in information technology and changes in learning concepts have enriched the learning resources and learning platforms that are available to hospital pharmacists and have confronted contemporary hospital pharmacists with certain challenges.