A qualitative assessment of the pediatric content in pharmacy curricula adopted by pharmacy schools in Jordan
Main Article Content
Keywords
Child, Education, Pharmacy, Students, Pharmacy, Schools, Pharmacy, Faculty, Curriculum, Pharmaceutical Services, Qualitative Research, Jordan
Abstract
Objective: The present study aimed to explore faculty (i.e., professors of various ranks) opinions and views regarding the pediatric content in courses taught to pharmacy students in Jordan.
Methods: Purposeful sampling was used to identify faculty from ten pharmacy schools. Participants were identified through their institutions’ websites. After obtaining required approvals, twelve in-depth interviews were conducted, recorded, transcribed and analyzed using NVivo 11 Software. Interviews followed a previously prepared and validated interview guide. The interview guide covered various aspects of pediatric undergraduate education and training.
Results: Twelve professors (eight assistants and four associate professors) agreed to take part in the study. Qualitative analysis revealed four themes each with regard to respondents’ knowledge of the pediatric content and their students’ competency in dealing with pediatric patients. The emerging themes were: the lack of pediatric content in their current curriculum, the need for exposing students to more courses teaching pediatrics, and future aspirations to deal with this, and implications on practice.
Conclusions: This study highlights the deficiency of pediatric courses in pharmacy curriculum in Jordan. Respondent believed that this will have negative implications on pediatric pharmaceutical care and treatment efficacy and safety. It was thought that adding more pediatrics topics to undergraduate curricula, offering pediatric specialized postgraduate education, and implementing pre-registration training could alleviate the current situation.
References
2. USCB. United States Census Bureau. Annual estimates of the population by sex and selected age groups for the United States. Available at: https://factfinder.census.gov/ (accessed Aug 22, 2018).
3. World Health Organization. Promoting safety of medicines for children. Geneva: WHO; 2007.
4. Condren ME, Haase MR, Luedtke SA, Gaylor AS. Clinical activities of an academic pediatric pharmacy team. Ann Pharmacother. 2004;38(4):574-578. https://dx.doi.org/10.1345/aph.1D384
5. LaRochelle JM, Ghaly M, Creel AM. Clinical pharmacy faculty interventions in a pediatric intensive care unit: an eight-month review. J Pediatr Pharmacol Ther. 2012;17(3):263-269.
6. Finney E. Children’s medicines: A situational analysis. Available at: http://www.who.int/childmedicines/progress/CM_analysis.pdf (accessed Aug 22, 2018).
7. The Necessity and Challenges of Clinical Research Involving Children. In: Field MJ, Behrman RE, ed. Ethical Conduct of Clinical Research Involving Children. Washington (DC): National Academies Press; 2004. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK25553/ (accessed Aug 22, 2018).
8. Bavdekar S, Gogtay N. Unlicensed and off-label drug use in children. J Postgrad Med. 2005;51(4):249-252.
9. Choonara I, Conroy S. Unlicensed and off-label drug use in children. Drug Saf. 2002;25(1):1-5. https://dx.doi.org/10.2165/00002018-200225010-00001
10. Feudtner C, Dai D, Hexem KR, Luan X, Metjian TA. Prevalence of polypharmacy exposure among hospitalized children in the United States. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2012;166(1):9-16. https://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archpediatrics.2011.161
11. Meyers RS, Costello-Curtin J. Implementing a pediatric pharmacy educational program for health-system pharmacists. Am J Pharm Educ. 2011;75(10):205. https://dx.doi.org/10.5688/ajpe7510205
12. Alefan Q, Alsmadi MM. Pharmacy education in Jordan: updates. Int J Pharm Pract. 2017;25(6):418-420. https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ijpp.12344
13. Mukattash T, Jarab A, Abu Farha R, Alefishat E, McElnay JC. Pharmaceutical Care in Children: Self-Reported Competencies of Final Year Pharmacy Students in Jordan. Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal. 2018;18(4):289-296.
14. Kharmeh S. Evaluating the quality of health care services in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. International Journal of Business and Management. 2012;7(4):195. https://dx.doi.org/10.5539/ijbm.v7n4p195
15. Wazaify M, Abood E, Tahaineh L, Albsoul-Younes A. Jordanian community pharmacists’ experience regarding prescription and nonprescription drug abuse and misuse in Jordan – An update. J Subst Use. 2017;22(5):463-468. https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14659891.2016.1235734
16. Krzyzaniak N, Bajorek B. Medication safety in neonatal care: a review of medication errors among neonates. Ther Adv Drug Saf. 2016;7(3):102-119. https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2042098616642231
17. Matsui D. Current issues in pediatric medication adherence. Paediatr Drugs. 2007;9(5):283-288. https://dx.doi.org/10.2165/00148581-200709050-00001
18. El-Rachidi S, LaRochelle JM, Morgan JA. Pharmacists and Pediatric Medication Adherence: Bridging the Gap. Hosp Pharm. 2017;52(2):124-131. https://dx.doi.org/10.1310/hpj5202-124
19. Prescott WA Jr, Dahl EM, Hutchinson DJ. Education in pediatrics in US colleges and schools of pharmacy. Am J Pharm Educ. 2014;78(3):51. https://dx.doi.org/10.5688/ajpe78351
20. Aucoin RG, Buck ML, Dupuis LL, Dominguez KD, Smith KP. Pediatric pharmacotherapeutic education: current status and recommendations to fill the growing need. Pharmacotherapy. 2005;25(9):1277-1282. https://dx.doi.org/10.1592/phco.2005.25.9.1277
21. Bhatt-Mehta V, Buck ML, Chung AM, Farrington EA, Hagemann TM, Hoff DS, LaRochelle JM, Pettit RS, Phan H, Potts AL, Smith KP, Parrish RH 2nd. Recommendations for meeting the pediatric patient's need for a clinical pharmacist: a joint opinion of the Pediatrics Practice and Research Network of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy and the Pediatric Pharmacy Advocacy Group. Pharmacotherapy. 2013;33(2):243-251. https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/phar.1246
22. Omura M, Maguire J, Levett-Jones T, Stone TE. The effectiveness of assertiveness communication training programs for healthcare professionals and students: A systematic review. Int J Nurs Stud. 2017;76:120-128. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2017.09.001
23. Rouse MJ. Continuing professional development in pharmacy. Am J Health-Syst Pharm. 2004;61(19):2069-2076. https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ajhp/61.19.2069
24. Mărginean CO, Meliţ LE, Chinceşan M, Mureşan S, Georgescu AM, Suciu N, Pop A, Azamfirei L. Communication skills in pediatrics – the relationship between pediatrician and child. Medicine (Baltimore). 2017;96(43):e8399. https://dx.doi.org/10.1097/MD.0000000000008399
25. Konstantynowicz J, Marcinowicz L, Abramowicz P, Abramowicz M. What Do Children with Chronic Diseases and Their Parents Think About Pediatricians? A Qualitative Interview Study. Matern Child Health J. 2016;20(8):1745-1752. https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10995-016-1978-0
26. Palazzi DL, Lorin M, Turner TL, Ward M, Cabrera AG. Communicating with Pediatric Patients and Their Families: The Texas Children’s Hospital Guide for Physicians, Nurses and Other Healthcare Professionals. Houston: Texas Children’s Hospital; 2015. Available at: https://media.bcm.edu/documents/2015/76/palazzi-et-al-tch-guide-to-patient-communication.pdf (accessed Aug 22, 2018).
27. Suyagh M, Farah D, Farha RA. Pharmacist’s knowledge, practice and attitudes toward pharmacovigilance and adverse drug reactions reporting process. Saudi Pharm J. 2015;23(2):147-153. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsps.2014.07.001
28. Alsaleh FM, Alzaid SW, Abahussain EA, Bayoud T, Lemay J. Knowledge, attitude and practices of pharmacovigilance and adverse drug reaction reporting among pharmacists working in secondary and tertiary governmental hospitals in Kuwait. Saudi Pharm J. 2017;25(6):830-837. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsps.2016.12.004
Article Sidebar
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 Unported License.