EVALUATING PHARMACEUTICAL EDUCATION SITUATION IN THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN REGION USING THE INTERNATIONAL PHARMACEUTICAL FEDERATION'S DEVELOPMENT GOALS OF ACADEMIC CAPACITY AND QUALITY ASSURANCE

Abstract

Introduction: The pharmaceutical workforce intelligence involves the development, implementation, and evaluation of effective strategies and tools to ensure the availability and quality of the pharmaceutical workforce. This study aimed to evaluate the status of Academic-Capacity (AC) and Quality-Assurance (QA) of pharmacy education in the Eastern-Mediterranean-Region (EMR) using the International-Pharmaceutical-Federation (FIP)’s Development-Goals (DGs) and their associated mechanisms as a framework. Methodology: A systematic review was conducted to identify a survey tool that can address the study objective. After failing to identify a suitable tool, a new questionnaire was developed and validated. Following that, a mixed-methods study was conducted, where the quantitative phase involved administering the newly developed questionnaire to pharmacy leaders in all pharmacy schools in the EMR countries. This was followed by conducting a qualitative phase to gain a deeper insight of the pharmacy leaders on the mechanisms associated with AC and QA goals of the FIP-DGs through semi-structured interviews. Results: The results of the questionnaire validation suggested that the questionnaire has high reliability and validity using Cronbach’s α and content validity indices (S-CVI scores). Of 112 deans in pharmacy schools in the EMR, 60 participated in the survey (54 % response rate). Planning students’ enrollment capacity based on local workforce needs was reported by 51% of the schools. Capacity-building programs for teacher-practitioners/in-practice education providers were provided by 47% of the programs. Collaboration with stakeholders in designing and/or QA of the curricular content was reported by 71% of the participants. Most programs (67%) stated that they adopt/adapt global standards for QA in pharmacy education. At the country level, 70% of the programs adhered to standards of practice for pharmacists. Moreover, six main themes were identified from the semi-structured interviews. The main gaps identified through the interviews were lack of adequate density distribution in all career pathways and countries, need for improving preceptors' training programs, developing the national standards for pharmacy education and practice, and forming national pharmacy professional bodies. Conclusion: Although some mechanisms associated with the AC and QA goals are achieved and maintained adequately in the pharmacy programs in the region, most of them require improvements. Factors identified that might impact the distribution of the pharmacy workforce in their career paths such as job opportunities and gender require further investigation.