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Evaluation of pharmacy students' perceptions of clinical pharmacy in South Africa
Author(s) -
Ilcewicz Haley N.,
Coetzee Renier,
Taylor Mary,
Piechowski Kara,
Martello Jay L.,
Wietholter Jon P.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of the american college of clinical pharmacy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2574-9870
DOI - 10.1002/jac5.1208
Subject(s) - pharmacy , pharmacy practice , clinical pharmacy , experiential learning , medical education , pharmaconomist , medicine , multistate pharmacy jurisprudence examination , pharmacist , pharmacy school , family medicine , observational study , experiential education , nursing , psychology , pedagogy
The University of the Western Cape (UWC) is integrating clinical, hospital‐based experiential learning into the final year of its pharmacy education. As clinical pharmacy continues to expand in South Africa, students' perceptions of the evolving field are not yet described in the literature. Objectives The purpose of this study was to describe UWC's pharmacy students' perceptions of clinical pharmacy practice as it continues to develop in South Africa. Methods This study was a cross‐sectional, observational study of second, third, and fourth year pharmacy students at UWC. The 18‐item questionnaire was distributed via an online survey tool to participants during the second semester of the 2018 academic year. Results One‐hundred forty nine (52%) students completed the survey. Ninety‐four percent of students had previous experience in a pharmacy setting but only 28.2% had experience observing a clinical pharmacist. UWC students felt that practicing clinical pharmacy is valuable (median 5 ± 0) and did not think it takes too much time and effort (median 2 ± 1), but also believed that there are barriers to its practice (median 4 ± 1). Overall, they did not think they had adequate training in clinical pharmacy (median 3 ± 2) and agreed that further training is required in order to practice clinical pharmacy (median 5 ± 1). Conclusion Pharmacy students at UWC had an overall positive outlook on the practice of clinical pharmacy. Students at UWC School of Pharmacy are exposed to an innovative clinical experiential program that may have influenced their perceptions of clinical pharmacy, but still feel further clinical training beyond their curricula is required to adequately practice clinical pharmacy. Future research should focus on other pharmacy students' and pharmacists' perceived barriers to practicing clinical pharmacy as the field continues to evolve in South Africa.