Is present pharmacy education adapted to needs? Survey results from young practitioner views regarding pharmacy education outcome towards a national reform in Hungary

BackgroundThe pharmacist career is constantly adapting to societal and health care needs. The past decade has seen a growing demand for curricular development to align graduation outcome with workforce competencies.ObjectiveThis study aims to identify expectations for both didactic and experiential components of a new curriculum based on young pharmacist practitioner views.MethodsAn online survey questionnaire was used in 2019–2020 to evaluate the pharmacy curriculum to detect indicators or key areas which require comprehensive reform.ResultsThe predominant majority of the 205 study participants recommended reduction in credit hours for Natural Sciences (78.54%) and a similar increase in the Theoretical and Practical Expertise Module (77.9%). Pharmaceutical care, clinical therapeutics and clinical pharmacy competencies should also be more highlighted in the program. Findings indicate the current training does not prepare for problem-solving and daily workplace challenges (72.7%) or for extended pharmacist skills and competencies (71.71%). Results show inconsistency in practical training experience, as all respondents participated in practical training for drug manufacturing and analysis but 61.0% reported no hands-on skills training in a hospital-clinical simulation setting. Indications for practitioner involvement into the natural sciences and biomedical subjects (86.3%) confirm the obvious need for more practice-oriented education.ConclusionsEducational reforms seem to be inevitable to achieve measurable improvement in professional practice and skills competency. The country specific demand for a needs-based pharmacy education reflects global trends but may also provide useful insights for individual transitions to transform education through practice and improve practice through education.     

Adopting global tools for the advancement of pharmacy practice and workforce in Saudi Arabia

BackgroundThe continuing expansion of the pharmacist’s role necessitates continuous evaluation of current practice to identify strategies for improvements. The International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) has developed tools to support stakeholders in identifying development needs and planning advancement strategies. The aim of this research was to utilise the FIP Global Competency Framework, version 2 (GbCF v2), and FIP Development Goals (DGs) to evaluate competencies related to pharmacy practice in Saudi Arabia, and to understand the strategies needed to develop and improve the current practice.MethodsThe study involved four phases. Phase 1 involved translation of the FIP GbCF v2 into the Arabic language. Phase 2 was a consensus panel validation to establish the initial relevance of the competencies to current practice. Phase 3 included a national survey distributed to all registered pharmacists in Saudi Arabia. The final phase was conducted through mapping ‘not relevant’ competencies to FIP DGs to identify priorities.ResultsThe translation phase yielded a bilingual framework that could be utilized by pharmacists in Saudi Arabia. The initial validation phase identified 61 behavioral statements (from 124 in the GbCF v2) as ‘highly relevant’ or ‘relevant’ to pharmacy practice. Findings from the national survey identified a list of ‘not relevant’ competencies that could highlight gaps in current practice. The final mapping phase generated a list of three FIP DG priorities: DG5 (competency development), DG8 (working with others) and DG11 (impact and outcomes).ConclusionThe study indicated that competencies in the GbCF v2 were relevant to pharmacists practicing in the country. However, some competencies were perceived as ‘not relevant’ to current practice and these highlighted gaps in the current practice that need attention. Mapping ‘not relevant’ competencies to FIP DGs should be used as a starting point towards developing strategies, systems, and protocols to advance pharmacy practice in Saudi Arabia.     

Moral reasoning perspectives of community pharmacists in situations of drug shortages

BackgroundDrug shortages affect health systems worldwide. Research in community pharmacy has focused on the nature, extent and impact of these shortages on patients and pharmacists. However, pharmacists’ moral reasoning in situations of drug shortages has not been addressed.ObjectiveTo explore the moral reasoning perspectives of Dutch community pharmacists in situations of drug shortages.MethodAn electronic survey was developed around three drug shortage scenarios with a varying impact on patient outcomes: a Contraceptive, a Parkinson's and an Osteoporosis scenario. Pharmacists rated the likelihood of nine handling options and rated and ranked 13 considerations that may have played a role therein. The considerations represented three moral reasoning perspectives (MRPs): a business orientation (BO), a rules and regulations (RR), and a professional ethics (PE) MRP. Principle component analysis (PCA) was used to investigate construct validity of the MRPs. MRP rating and MRP ranking scores measured the relative importance of the different MRPs of pharmacists in the three shortages.ResultsResults from 267 Pharmacists were obtained. They reported mostly similar handling in the three shortages, except for the likelihood to make agreements with prescribers or other pharmacists and regarding the decision to import a product. The PCA analysis confirmed the three MRPs that accounted for 29% of variance in the data. Both the MRP rating and especially the MRP ranking scores indicated that PE-MRP considerations were most influential on pharmacists' intended handling of the shortages. In the Contraceptive and the Osteoporosis scenarios, the relative importance of a BO-MRP was higher than in the Parkinson's scenario.ConclusionPharmacists predominantly reason with a PE-MRP when handling drug shortages. However, this perspective can be compromised when the drug shortage is perceived to have a lower impact on patient outcomes and when alternative drugs or therapy are expensive.     

Impact of COVID-19 lockdown on sleep quality of pharmacy students in UiTM Puncak Alam

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the closure of educational institutions was executed during the period of lockdown. This subsequently led to alterations in daily routines and emotional distress, particularly among university students, affecting their sleep quality resulting in disturbance of immune functioning and mood regulation. Hence, the present study aimed to measure students' sleep quality during the first few months of the lockdown period. This study is a cross-sectional, single-centred survey that was done by distributed electronic questionnaire. The e-questionnaire was divided into 4 sections that assessed socio-demographic characteristics, sleep quality, psychological state and engagement in physical activity. Exactly 248 valid responses were received, 82 % female students. Students with poor sleep quality were three times greater than those with good sleep quality. No association were found between physical activity and sleep quality. However, a significant positive relationship between sleep quality and psychological state was observed (p < 0.01). In conclusion, this study suggests that the majority of pharmacy students in UiTM Puncak Alam are poor sleepers and psychological distress negatively affects sleep quality but, is mainly due to stress. Thus, interventions such as stress management programs and mental health support can be taken by the faculty's management to overcome this problem.     

Statin use and medically attended acute respiratory illness among influenza vaccine recipients

BackgroundPrevious studies have suggested that statins decrease influenza vaccine effectiveness and increase risk of medically attended acute respiratory illness (MAARI).ObjectivesTo examine the association of incident statin use and MAARI in a cohort of influenza vaccine recipients.MethodsThis retrospective cohort study evaluated influenza vaccine recipients within the Tricare population. The primary outcome compared MAARI incidence during the follow-up period in a propensity score-matched cohort of incident statin users and statin non-users. Secondary analysis included propensity score-adjusted comparisons between incident statin users and statin non-users in the entire cohort and prespecified sub-cohorts with and without comorbidities. The propensity score was derived from 72 variables encompassing demographics, medical history, comorbidities, medication use, and healthcare utilization.ResultsMAARI incidence in statin users was similar to non-users in the propensity score-matched cohort (odds ratio [OR] 0.92; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.84–1.01). In contrast, statin users with lower comorbidity had lower OR for MAARI compared to non-users (Charlson Score zero cohort: 0.85 [CI 0.74–0.98]; No Diabetes cohort: 0.88 [CI 0.80–0.96]).ConclusionIncident statin use was not associated with increased MAARI incidence and may be associated with lower incidence of MAARI in those with less comorbidity. This study thus offers reassurance regarding the effectiveness of the influenza vaccine in statin users.