Introduction: Pharmacy practice in many middle to low-income countries has slowly transitioned from being product-focused to a more patient-focused clinical practice. Lack of motivation is one of the factors contributing to the scarcity of pharmacists in the wards. As little is known about motivation in clinical pharmacists, this study aimed to obtain insight into the quantity and quality of their work motivation and factors associated with it.Methods: Self-determination Theory, used as the framework, describes autonomous motivation as being generated from within or through personal endorsement and controlled motivation as originating from external factors. An online questionnaire including the Academic Motivation Scale to measure autonomous motivation, controlled motivation and amotivation, was sent to clinical pharmacy graduates from 2000 to 2020 across South Africa, followed by interviews to explain some results. Independent t-test was used to analyze differences in motivation of clinical pharmacists to perform clinical services based on personal and environmental factors. Interview data were transcribed and analyzed to explain significant quantitative findings.Results: Higher amotivation was found in graduates who are currently not practicing in dedicated clinical pharmacist positions, as well as in graduates who do not receive additional financial benefits for clinical services. We found no significant differences in the work motivation of clinical pharmacists based on their gender, age, current practice setting, work experience and additional training received. The interviews revealed that relatedness and autonomy are the most important factors for clinical pharmacists' work motivation.Discussion: Overall participants had a high mean autonomous motivation, a high mean controlled motivation and low mean amotivation. In line with Self-determination Theory literature, considering the basic psychological needs for relatedness and autonomy could assist with designing interventions, like creating a supportive work environment, to optimize motivation. This could improve professional wellbeing, service implementation and prevent possible adverse events. Future research is necessary to understand barriers and facilitators of clinical pharmacists' work motivation.
Background Incorporating clinical pharmacists in collaborative medical teams results in better patient treatment and health outcomes. In addition, the understanding of other healthcare professionals (HCPs) towards the role of clinical pharmacists can either facilitate or hinder the implementation and expansion of these services. The main distinction between pharmacists and clinical pharmacists lie in their different scope of duties. This study set out to explore other HCPs’ understanding towards the role of the clinical pharmacists in South Africa, and to identify associated factors. Methods An exploratory, survey-based, quantitative study was conducted. A survey assessing HCPs’ understanding based on the competencies and role of a clinical pharmacist was distributed to 300 doctors, nurses, pharmacists and clinical pharmacists. An exploratory factor analysis was carried out to determine the construct validity of the measurement. Items were analysed for grouping into subscales through principal components analysis. Differences in the variable scores for gender, age, work experience and previous experience working with a clinical pharmacist were analyzed using independent t-tests. Analysis of variance was used to analyze differences in the variable scores for the different HCPs and the different departments of work in the hospital. Results The factor analysis yielded two separate subscales, measuring HCPs’ (n = 188) understanding towards the role of a clinical pharmacist, as well as the competencies of a clinical pharmacist. Doctors (85, n = 188) (p = 0.004) and nurses (76, n = 188) (p = 0.022), working in both surgical and non-surgical units, had significantly poorer understanding of the role of clinical pharmacists than clinical pharmacists (8, n = 188) and pharmacists (19, n = 188) (p = 0.028). Where specific clinical pharmacist activities were described, 5–16% of pharmacists were unsure whether an activity forms part of a clinical pharmacist’s role. Over 50% of the clinical pharmacists disagreed that their role also includes pharmacist’s activities, like stock procurement and control, pharmacy and administrative work, and hospital pharmacy-medication dispensing activities. Conclusion The findings highlighted the possible impact of role expectations and lack of understanding among HCPs. A standard job description with recognition from statutory bodies could promote other HCPs, as well as clinical pharmacists’ understanding of their roles. Findings further suggested the need for interventions like interprofessional education opportunities, staff induction programmes and regular interprofessional meetings to foster acknowledgement of clinical pharmacy services, promoting the acceptance and growth of the profession.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.