Preparedness and barriers to pharmaceutical care among final-year pharmacy students and recent graduates: a cross-sectional study in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Background: Pharmacy students' preparedness to provide pharmaceutical care (PC) is crucial for ensuring optimal patient outcomes. Understanding their self-assessed readiness across different competency areas and identifying barriers can help identify areas for improvement in pharmacy education.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate pharmacy students' perceptions of their preparedness to provide PC across technical, psychological, communication, administrative, and research domains, as well as the perceived barriers.

Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 278 final year pharmacy students and recent graduates from various institutions in Saudi Arabia. A modified questionnaire, adapted and refined from a previous study, was tailored to the Saudi Arabian context to align with current educational and professional standards in pharmacy practice.

Results: The majority of the participants were female, aged 24-26, and were predominantly enrolled in the PharmD program. The findings reveal that students generally felt well-prepared in technical, psychological, and communication domains of PC, with median confidence scores of 4 across most skills in these areas. However, they reported moderate confidence in administrative and research skills. Barriers, such as lack of private space for patient counseling and time constraints, were commonly perceived challenges to PC. Females perceived more barriers to providing PC compared to males (p = 0.002). PharmD students reported higher perceived preparedness in technical (p = 0.008), psychological (p = 0.013), and research skills (p = 0.006) compared to B.Pharm students. Additionally, recent graduates felt more prepared in administrative tasks compared to final years students (p = 0.045).

Conclusion: Pharmacy students apperceived themselves as moderately prepared for providing PC, with gaps in administrative and research domains. Additionally, overcoming commonly perceived barriers, such as lack of private counseling spaces and time constraints, may further support students in delivering effective PC. To address the moderate confidence in administrative and research skills, pharmacy curricula should integrate targeted, hands-on training through case-based learning, simulations, and research projects.

Keywords: Barriers; Pharmaceutical care; Pharmacy education; Preparedness; Saudi Arabia.