Ethics in Pharmacy Curriculum for Undergraduate Pharmacy Students: A Needs Assessment Study Pubmed



Salari P¹ ; Abdollahi M^{2, 3}
Source: Archives of Iranian Medicine Published:2017

Abstract

Introduction: Recent advances in pharmacy practice have created serious ethical challenges for the pharmacists. Pursuing a new philosophy of practice is required to overcome these challenges and optimize the standard of care. In this regard, the current ethics guideline in the Pharmacy curriculum used in Tehran University of Medical Sciences, does not provide a fully comprehensive understanding ofthe issue. Therefore, the aim ofthe present study was to revise the current curriculum based on a need assessment study. Methods: In this study, a two-part questionnaire was presented to pharmacists to obtain their views on the importance of topics in their daily routine practice. Part one ofthe questionnaire consisted ofdemographic data and parttwo of 23 topics in pharmacy ethics. Results: Out of a total of 200 questionnaires, 158 questionnaires were returned. We reached consensus on 24 topics, of which 8 topics gained a score of higher than 4 (the highest score was considered to be 5) and the rest obtained a score of 3 and higher. The highest score pertained to the pharmacists’ relationship with patients, awareness of the rules and regulations, and medication error. Conclusion: Based on the results, a revised curriculum was designed for ethics in pharmacy. It seems that the designed curriculum is context-based and will develop appropriate educational material regarding pharmacists’ requirements in daily practice. Consideration of interactive methods for teaching the curriculum is highly recommended. © 2017, Academy of Medical Sciences of I.R. Iran. All rights reserved.