Pharmacy Education Must Keep Pace With Changing Health Care Landscape | ACCP 2024
Posters presented at ACCP 2024 revealed gaps in pharmacy students’ understanding of off-label drug applications and identified strengths and weaknesses among pharmacy graduates.
As the health care landscape continues to evolve, so too must the training and education of pharmacists. Two posters presented at the American College of Clinical Pharmacy 2024 Annual Meeting highlighted the critical need for pharmacy programs to adapt their curricula to address emerging challenges and ensure graduates are equipped with the necessary skills to meet the changing demands of the profession.
Female pharmacist taking inventory / lubero - stock.adobe.com
Despite their overall understanding of medication safety, pharmacy students may have limited knowledge of off-label drug uses, according to one poster presented at the meeting.1
Off-label prescription practices are often not adequately addressed in therapeutic courses. Researchers sought to identify gaps in the literature and education on off-label drug applications, emphasizing their importance in clinical pharmacy. To do so, they investigated the availability of resources on off-label drug uses and the degree of understanding among pharmacy students regarding these practices.
A survey and literature search were conducted among 40 students to evaluate pharmacy students’ knowledge and opinions on the off-label uses of albuterol, gabapentin, and tamsulosin. A standardized questionnaire with a total of 45 knowledge and 45 opinion questions was used to assess students’ understanding of drug side effects, interactions, indications, and formulations, with an emphasis on off-label applications.
Responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and multi-regression analysis in SPSS.
Across 30 knowledge questions, students demonstrated an average correctness rate of 52.21%. Although they were proficient in identifying side effects, with 86.5% of students recognizing tachycardia from albuterol, students exhibited significant gaps in understanding off-label uses. Only 59.5% recognized that albuterol is not approved for bacterial infections and correctly identified its tablet form. Additionally, most students opposed promoting the off-label use of medications.
To these results, investigators wrote, “these gaps underscore the need for enhanced educational focus on off-label drug uses to improve safe prescribing practices.”
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Another poster at the meeting suggested that although recent pharmacy graduates excel in patient advocacy, communication, and clinical skills, they may fall short in critical thinking, drug knowledge, business management, and improving patient access.2
Recent calls for reform in health professions education have led pharmacy educators to engage in curricular changes. However, some stakeholders have questioned the effectiveness of these efforts. To address this uncertainty, researchers sought stakeholders’ opinions on pharmacy education and the current and future needs of the profession to guide future educational transformation.
For the study, investigators conducted semi-structured focus groups with stakeholders from professional organizations, practice transformation leaders, practicing pharmacists, pharmacist payors, and other health care professionals.
One-hour focus groups were facilitated by a trained researcher, audio-recorded, and transcribed verbatim until content saturation was reached. Two team members independently analyzed the data and identified themes for each focus group, followed by a consensus among all coders to finalize themes and ensure data accuracy.
Multiple strengths and weaknesses were identified, as well as clear identification of societal and patient needs.
Based on the data, recent pharmacy graduates demonstrated strengths in patient advocacy, communication, and clinical skills. However, stakeholders disagreed on whether recent pharmacy graduates possessed critical thinking skills, with workforce-based stakeholders perceiving it as a weakness. Additionally, key societal needs for drug knowledge, business and management skills, and enhanced patient access were often identified as weaknesses among graduates.
“Focus groups provided valuable insights into the strengths and weaknesses of pharmacy graduates along with rising needs for pharmacists, which can be used when evaluating future educational changes,” wrote investigators.
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