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. 2015 May 20:6:385-91.
doi: 10.2147/AMEP.S80802. eCollection 2015.

Impact of clerkship attachments on students' attitude toward pharmaceutical care in Ethiopia

Bayew Tsega  1 , Akshaya Srikanth Bhagavathula  1 , Barun Ranjan Sarkar  1 , Tadesse Melaku  1 , Zewdneh Shewamene  2
Affiliations

Impact of clerkship attachments on students' attitude toward pharmaceutical care in Ethiopia

Bayew Tsega et al. Adv Med Educ Pract. .

Abstract

Objective: The study objective is to investigate the impact of mandatory clinical clerkship courses on 5th-year pharmacy students' attitudes and perceived barriers toward providing pharmaceutical care (PC).

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 5th-year pharmacy students undertaking mandatory clinical clerkship in the University of Gondar, Ethiopia. A pharmaceutical care attitudes survey (PCAS) questionnaire was used to assess the attitude (14 items), commonly identified drug-related problem/s (1 item) during clerkships, and perceived barriers (12 items) toward the provision of PC. Statistical analysis was conducted on the retrieved data.

Results: Out of the total of 69 clerkship students, 65 participated and completed the survey (94.2% response rate). Overall, 74.45% of participants opinioned a positive attitude toward PC provision. Almost all respondents agreed that the primary responsibility of pharmacists in the healthcare setting was to prevent and solve medication-related problems (98.5%), practice of PC was valuable (89.3%), and the PC movement will improve patient health (95.4%), respectively. Unnecessary drug therapy (43%), drug-drug interactions (33%), and non-adherence to medications (33%) were the most common drug-related problems identified in wards. Highly perceived barriers for PC provision included lack of a workplace for counseling in the pharmacy (75.4%), a poor image of pharmacist's role in wards (67.7%), and inadequate technology in the pharmacy (64.6%). Lack of access to a patient's medical record in the pharmacy had significant association (P<0.05) with PC practice, performance of PC during clerkship, provision of PC as clinical pharmacists, and Ethiopian pharmacists benefiting by PC.

Conclusion: Ethiopian clinical pharmacy students have a good attitude toward PC. Efforts should be targeted toward reducing these drug therapy issues, and aiding the integration of PC provision with pharmacy practice.

Keywords: Ethiopia; clerkship; clinical pharmacy program; pharmaceutical care; students.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Most identified drug-related problems by the students (N=65).
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