Student perspectives on pharmacy curriculum and instruction in Egyptian schools

Applicability of American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) competencies to clinical pharmacy practice in Egypt

Background

The American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) prepared clinical pharmacist competencies that have specific recommendations. Recently, many efforts to advance clinical pharmacy services in Egypt exist. The literature revealed that no country has assessed the extent of applicability of ACCP competencies in its current pharmacy practice setting. Egyptian pharmacists can provide feedback about applicability of such competencies in clinical pharmacy settings in Egypt.

Objective

The objective of this study was to investigate the extent to which ACCP competencies were implemented by Egyptian clinical pharmacists and therefore evaluate development of clinical pharmacy practice in Egypt. The study also investigated factors affecting the applicability of such competencies in the current clinical pharmacy practice setting in Egypt.

Methods

Four hundred and ninety-five randomly selected clinical pharmacists from several hospitals were invited to participate in a cross sectional survey using a self-administered validated questionnaire composed of 31 questions classified into six domains. This questionnaire was designed to determine the pharmacists' perception about applicability of ACCP competencies to clinical pharmacy practice in Egypt.

Results

The response rate was 64% as 317 out of 495 pharmacists completed the questionnaire. These pharmacists were categorized according to age; gender; qualifications; years of previous work experience, years since BSc. and type of hospitals they are currently working at. Analysis of data revealed the professionalism domain to have the highest percentage of acceptance among pharmacists, while the system-based care & population health domain had the lowest percentage of acceptance. Results also showed that qualifications of participants did not affect their response in three domains; "Direct Patient Care", "Systems-based Care & Population Health" and "Continuing Professional Development" (p=0.082, 0.081, 0.060), respectively. Nevertheless, qualifications of participants did affect their response in the other three domains; "Pharmacotherapy Knowledge", "Communication" and "Professionalism" (p<0.05). The age of pharmacists, gender, years of previous work experience, and graduation year did not affect their responses in all six domains. The type of hospital they are currently working at, though, affected their responses where, there was a highly statistically significant increase of the mean score of all domains among participants working at the NGOs/private hospitals compared to governmental hospitals (p<0.001).

Conclusions

Egyptian pharmacists generally apply high percentage of ACCP competencies but the provided clinical pharmacy services need to be improved through applying the standards of best practice.

The FIP Nanjing Statements: Shaping global pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences education

The quality assurance of pharmacy education is a global goal and indicator of transformative pharmacy workforce development. FIP has published a number of tools, guidelines and resources to support individuals, institutions, nations and regions advance pharmacy education - especially as the state of pharmacy education varies widely in countries around the world. The Nanjing Statements offer a potential additional tool aimed primarily at institutions to evaluate, monitor and advance their educational standards. The upcoming assessment tool being developed by FIP in partnership with Howard University will facilitate its utilization by educators and institutions worldwide and provides a global, practical mechanism of advancing the education of the pharmacy workforce worldwide.

Motivations, career aspiration, and learning experience of students in the pharmacy program at Kuwait University: A tool to guide curriculum development

PURPOSE

To determine students' motivating factors in the choice of pharmacy, career aspirations, and perceptions about learning experiences in the current pharmacy curriculum.

ACTIVITY

A descriptive cross-sectional survey of pharmacy students was performed at Kuwait University FINDINGS: The most common reason to pursue pharmacy was that they were not admitted to medicine or dentistry (40.5%). About half of students were seeing themselves employed in hospital pharmacies immediately after graduation. Over two-thirds of respondents 'agreed' or 'strongly agreed' that the pharmacy program developed their problem-solving skills (78.5%) and improved their communication skills (66.4%). Students also admitted that the teaching staff seemed more interested in testing memorization (72.5%), that feedback on student work was usually provided in the form of grades (66.4%), and that the workload is putting a lot of pressure on them (88%).

SUMMARY

The survey identifies key elements that needs to be improved in the next iteration of the program (entry-level PharmD).

Competency-based pharmacy education in the Eastern Mediterranean Region-A scoping review

BACKGROUND

The International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) Global Competency Framework (GbCF) was developed as a mapping tool to provide guidance for foundation level pharmacy practice and professional development. The Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) with a deep rooted pharmacy history is yet to adopt an explicit competency framework.

OBJECTIVE

To review the literature for evidence of competency-based pharmacy education in the EMR, including pharmacists' and pharmacy students' perceptions of knowledge and skills acquired during training at undergraduate, post-graduate, and life-long learning levels.

METHODS

Six electronic databases were searched for articles published between 1990 and 2014. Titles and abstracts were screened according to the inclusion criteria. Full articles identified for inclusion were assessed and mapped to a relevant domain of the GbCF.

RESULTS

Totally, 57 studies met the inclusion criteria. The majority of studies portrayed pharmacists' and pharmacy students' opinions regarding educational aspects of their experiences. Participants generally cited the need for more practice-based training, modernization of curriculum, continuing pharmacist education and greater involvement in public health promotion, and research to strengthen professional competency. Interventional studies-enhanced knowledge and skills after training was provided to pharmacists and pharmacy students. No studies pertaining to the organization and management domain of the GbCF were found.

CONCLUSION

Despite paucity of studies that specifically investigated aspects of competency-based pharmacy education in the EMR, results provided impressions of what participants perceived as beneficial, or lacking in their education to attain certain competencies. Results point toward the need to implement a competency framework specific to the EMR.

Integrating science and practice in pharmacy curricula

An integrated curriculum is one where the summation of different academic disciplines forms a coherent whole and, importantly, where the relationships between the different disciplines have been carefully and strategically considered when forming the composite. Within pharmacy curriculum integration is important in order to produce graduates who have the capacity to apply their knowledge to a range of complex problems where available information is often incomplete. This paper discusses the development of an integrated curriculum in which students are presented with an organized, logical sequence of material, but still challenged to make their own integrations and develop as integrative thinkers. An evidence-based model upon which an interdisciplinary undergraduate pharmacy curriculum can be built is presented.

Community pharmacy in the United Arab Emirates: characteristics and workforce issues

OBJECTIVES

To determine the characteristics and workforce issues of community pharmacy practice in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

METHODS

Data collection was by anonymous cross-sectional survey. Questionnaires were distributed by hand to 700 community pharmacies to collect information about the participating pharmacists, pharmacy characteristics, the types of products and professional pharmacy services available to patients, and the barriers to offering professional services.

KEY FINDINGS

A total of 344 pharmacists (49%) responded. Most were male (64%), had been in practice for less than 10 years (mean = 9.3, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 8.4-10.0) and were trained in India (35%) or Egypt (15%). The pharmacies were open for business 7 days/week (mean = 6.8, 95% CI = 6.7-8.8) with an average working day of 13 h (mean = 12.9, 95% CI = 12.7-13.2) and were mostly owned by independent non-pharmacists (70%). The pharmacies employed on average 2.6 full-time-equivalent (FTE) pharmacists (95% CI = 2.3-2.8) with 74% employing 1.8 FTE pharmacy assistants (95% CI = 1.7-2.0) and 47% employing trainee pharmacists (mean = 1.8 FTE, 95% CI = 1.6-2.0). Around three-quarters of the pharmacies dispensed fewer than 100 prescriptions (75%) and responded to fewer than 100 requests for over-the-counter medicines (69%) per day. Most pharmacists encountered limited immediate access to up-to-date resources.

CONCLUSIONS

This is the first study to explore the characteristics of community pharmacy practice in the UAE. The study provides baseline data which are critical to inform the development of strategies to improve the quality of community pharmacy services in the UAE.

Pharmacy education and practice in 13 Middle Eastern countries

The Arab world has influenced the art and science of pharmacy for centuries. Pharmacy education and practice is continuing to evolve in the Arabic-speaking traditional Middle East countries, although relatively little information has been published in the English press. Our goal was to provide a high-level synopsis of conditions in this region. We selected 13 countries for review. Information was obtained by reviewing the available published literature and individual university and program web sites, as well as contacting program or country representatives. Seventy-eight active pharmacy schools in 12 countries were identified. At least 14,000 students (over 75% from Egypt) are admitted into baccalaureate degree programs every year. The 5-year baccalaureate degree remains the first professional degree to practice. While changes in pharmacy education have been relatively rapid over the past decade, the advancement of pharmacy practice, particularly in the private sector, appears to be slower. Hospital pharmacists often possess an advanced degree and tend to have a higher level of practice compared to that of community pharmacists. Despite the adversities that face academics and practitioners alike, there is a strong desire to advance the science and practice of pharmacy in the Middle East.

Science or practice? UK undergraduate experiences and attitudes to the MPharm degree

OBJECTIVE

The debate surrounding the science/practice balance in the teaching of undergraduate pharmacy has been played out in the professional literature for years. The objective of this work was to explore the attitudes of pharmacy undergraduates on the practice-science debate.

SETTING

The study was undertaken as part of a national study of teaching, learning and assessment methods in United Kingdom (UK) schools of pharmacy.

METHOD

Six focus groups were carried out. The sample was 44 volunteer students from nine UK schools of pharmacy, representing all 4 years of the MPharm programme. Groups were tape recorded and transcribed. Analysis of the transcripts was theme based by topic.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE

Qualitative data on student attitudes and experiences.

RESULTS

Most students thought that there was too strong an emphasis placed on the science components of the course in the early part of their studies. Later in the course they realised that the majority of the science was necessary; it just had not been apparent to them at the time. There were strongly held attitudes across all 4 years that it would be beneficial to include more practice-related material at the beginning of their studies. This would be beneficial for three reasons: to make the course more interesting, to aid in the contextualisation of the science component and to assist the students in any early placement or vacational work.

CONCLUSION

Internationally, changes to the role of the pharmacist from a traditional supply function to a more clinical role has resulted in differing educational needs for the pharmacist of the future. Pharmacy will remain a degree built on a strong scientific background, but students advise that the contextualisation and sequencing of material within the degree could make a considerable improvement to their learning. Consulting students helps us to understand the teaching, learning and assessment experience better by giving insights into ways of improving the delivery. In the case of the UK, there are legislative changes impending which may provide an opportunity to review the balance of practice-and science in the curriculum.