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Training of provisionally registered pharmacists in Malaysian community pharmacies: perceptions and views of community pharmacists in Sarawak, Malaysia
Author(s) -
Kho Boon Phiaw,
Hassali Mohamed Azmi,
Lim Ching Jou,
Saleem Fahad,
Soon Hooi Cheng
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of pharmacy practice and research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.222
H-Index - 22
eISSN - 2055-2335
pISSN - 1445-937X
DOI - 10.1002/jppr.1423
Subject(s) - medicine , pharmacy , thematic analysis , salary , government (linguistics) , pharmacy practice , nursing , community pharmacy , medical education , family medicine , qualitative research , political science , sociology , social science , linguistics , philosophy , law
Background Various policies are in place to ensure proper training of provisionally registered pharmacists ( PRPs ) in Malaysia, in tandem with the nation's need for competent pharmacists. Accreditation as PRP training centres was recently extended to community pharmacies to cater for the increasing number of pharmacy graduates. Aim The aim of this study was to explore and describe the perceptions and views of community pharmacists in Sarawak, Malaysia, regarding the training of PRP s in the community pharmacy setting. Method Semistructured face‐to‐face interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of community pharmacists working in Sarawak. The interviews were audiorecorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Results Data saturation was reached after 20 pharmacists had been interviewed. Three key themes were identified: (1) reasons to support PRP training in community pharmacies; (2) barriers to professional training in the community pharmacy setting; and (3) potential solutions to increase the uptake of PRP s in community pharmacies. Community pharmacists in Sarawak train PRP s because of their altruistic nature and/or a business expansion strategy. However, they felt that the current practice environment is not practical for PRP training. Unaffordable salary, physical space constraints, lack of clear guidelines and fear of increased competition were other barriers identified. Potential solutions proposed include expansion of community pharmacists’ roles and having the PRP s’ salary subsidised by the government. Conclusion Successfully enlisting community pharmacists to train PRP s is critical to solving the problem of insufficient PRP placements in Malaysia. A more conducive practice environment and better training incentives are vital for success.