[Perspectives on the training of the pharmacist among pharmacists, academics and pharmacy students: A cross-sectional study]

Abstract

Objectives: The evolution of community pharmacist education is guided by successive reforms. They aim to reduce the gap between academic education and community pharmacy practice but the perception regarding these reforms is poorly documented. The present study describes the cross-perceptions between community pharmacists, pharmacy students and academics teachers regarding the gap between academic education and community pharmacy practice, and, therefore, the essential knowledges and skills for the community pharmacy practice.

Methods: This study was conducted between April 2017 and April 2018 using an electronic survey for community pharmacists, academic teachers and pharmacy students. The results were discussed regarding previous studies with the aim to detect improvement points and vigilance related points.

Results: This study shows that the pharmacy education program remains to be improved: 77% of respondents believe that there is a significant gap between the initial education program and the community pharmacy practice.

Conclusions: This cross-perception helps to better identify the several ways to improve the points of vigilance and the associated-barriers. All the propositions by the three groups of respondents prior ask for a better definition of the needed skills for community pharmacy practice before determine the most important knowledges and pedagogic methods to reach these. All these propositions seem consistent with reducing the gap between pharmacy education and community pharmacy practice but they also raise several questions about unicity of the pharmacy graduation in France.

Keywords: Compentency-based education; Enseignement supérieur; Graduate education; Pharmacie; Pharmacy; Pharmacy students; Éducation fondée sur la compétence; Étudiant en pharmacie.