Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Jan 18;23(1):35.
doi: 10.1186/s12909-023-04022-9.

Factors influencing future career interests of pharmacy interns in Saudi Arabia: a survey from 25 colleges of pharmacy

Abrar K Thabit  1 , Doaa I Alghamdi  2 , Reem O Alaqi  3 , Muath A Alsufyani  4 , Alaa A Bagalagel  2
Affiliations

Factors influencing future career interests of pharmacy interns in Saudi Arabia: a survey from 25 colleges of pharmacy

Abrar K Thabit et al. BMC Med Educ. .

Abstract

Background: Hundreds of pharmacists graduate from pharmacy colleges in Saudi Arabia, and various factors influence their choice of career pathway. Very few single-institution studies assessed career choices of pharmacy students with or without evaluating the influencing factors. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate career choices and the associating factors of pharmacy interns from multiple colleges in Saudi Arabia.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study that surveyed pharmacy interns from 25 pharmacy colleges in Saudi Arabia using an online questionnaire. The survey was sent during the last rotation month in the internship year (May-June 2022).

Results: Of 454 participants, 411 (90.5%) were enrolled in Doctor of Pharmacy programs. While most participants were interested in becoming clinical pharmacists (n = 183; 40.3%), a considerable number were also interested in working in different sectors of pharmaceutical companies and industry (n = 127; 28%). Internship training significantly correlated with selecting clinical pharmacy specialist career (r = 0.19; P = 0.0001), whereas salary/financial incentives significantly influenced the choice of working as sales and marketing representatives and pharmacy product specialists in pharmaceutical companies (r = 0.29 and 0.24; P < 0.0001 for both). College courses correlated with choosing academia in pharmaceutical sciences (r = 0.20; P < 0.0001), whereas summer training correlated with the community pharmacy career (r = 0.11; P = 0.02).

Conclusion: Pharmacy colleges should utilize results from this study to enhance the exposure of pharmacy students during their academic years to different pharmacy career pathways by allowing the opportunity to shadow pharmacists from different sectors as part of college courses, inviting previous graduates, and activating the role of academic advisors in career orientation.

Keywords: Career choice; Internship and residency; Pharmacists; Pharmacy; Saudi Arabia; Students, pharmacy.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Intentions to pursue postgraduate education or training, MS, Master’s degree; PhD, Doctor of Philosophy degree
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Almaghaslah D, Alsayari A, Asiri R, Albugami N. Pharmacy workforce in Saudi Arabia: Challenges and opportunities: A cross-sectional study. Int J Health Plann Manage. 2019;34(1):e583–e593. doi: 10.1002/hpm.2674. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Alhamoudi A, Alnattah A. Pharmacy education in Saudi Arabia: The past, the present, and the future. Curr Pharm Teach Learn. 2018;10(1):54–60. doi: 10.1016/j.cptl.2017.09.014. - DOI - PubMed
    1. 2030. V. Available at: https://www.vision2030.gov.sa. Accessed 18 Jun 2022.
    1. Bin Saleh G, Rezk NL, Laika L, Ali A, El-Metwally A. Pharmacist, the pharmaceutical industry and pharmacy education in Saudi Arabia: A questionnaire-based study. Saudi Pharm J. 2015;23(5):573–580. doi: 10.1016/j.jsps.2015.02.019. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Al Ghazzawi WF, Abuzaid A, Al-Shareef OA, Al-Sayagh SM. Female pharmacists' career perceptions in Saudi Arabia: A survey at an academic center in Jeddah. Curr Pharm Teach Learn. 2017;9(6):1022–1030. doi: 10.1016/j.cptl.2017.07.010. - DOI - PubMed

Substances

LinkOut - more resources