Assessment of Brazilian pharmacy students perception of their level of preparedness for pharmaceutical practice

The teaching model based on objective, measurable, and linear knowledge no longer seems to be the most appropriate, given the new responsibilities of pharmacists, who should focus their practices on patient care. The objective of the present study was to analyze students' perception about preparedness to pharmacy practice and to patient-centered care, and identify experiential training barriers Two discussion groups were formed with 12 and 13 individuals to present their perceptions about teaching and learning for pharmaceutical care. The analysis followed the methodology of Bardin. The analysis of the answers indicates that there is a significant gap in the training of pharmacists, with a strong emphasis on theoretical issues and less focus on knowledge acquisition and interpersonal communication, generating poor professional training and relationship barriers. In general, students do not feel prepared to deal with patients. These students identify the lack of infrastructure, such as the lack of a pharmacy and underutilization of the hospital, deficiencies in the curriculum such as the lack of key subjects, lack of clinical practice, and lack of preparation of some teachers, with an excess of classes following the lecture format. These factors influence the teaching and learning of clinical and communication skills, which undermine the pharmacists' ability to carry out clinical interventions, as well as affect the pharmaceutical-patient and pharmaceutical-physician relationship. These results suggest that for the pharmacists' clinical training it is necessary to rethink whether the infrastructure, the curriculum, and the teaching method are adequate for the development of skills and competences. Key words: Pharmaceutical care, pharmacy education, skills, competences.