BackgroundIn recent years, pharmacists have been involved in expanded patient care responsibilities, for example patient counseling in self-medication, medication review and pharmaceutical care, which require graduates to develop the necessary competences. Consequently, reorientation of pharmacy education has become necessary. As such, active learning strategies have been introduced into classrooms to increase problem-solving and critical thinking skills of students. The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance and perceptions of competency of students in a new pharmaceutical care course that uses active learning methodologies.MethodsThis pharmaceutical care course was conducted in the first semester of 2014, in the Federal University of Sergipe. In the pharmaceutical care course, active learning methods were used, consisting of dialogic classroom expository, simulation and case studies. Student learning was evaluated using classroom tests and instruments that evaluated the perception of competency in pharmaceutical care practice. Furthermore, students' satisfaction with the course was evaluated.ResultsThirty-three students completed the four evaluations used in the course (i.e., a discursive written exam, seminars, OSCE, and virtual patient); 25 were female (75.75%), and the median age was 23.43 (SD 2.82) years. The overall mean of student scores, in all evaluation methods was 7.97 (SD 0.59) on a scale of 0 to 10 points, and student performance on the virtual patient method was statistically superior to other methods. With respect to the perception of competency in pharmaceutical care practice, a comparison of pre- and post-test scores revealed statistically significant improvement for all evaluated competences. At the end of the semester, the students presented positive opinions of the pharmaceutical care course.ConclusionsThe results suggest that an active learning course can enhance the learning of pharmaceutical care competences. In future studies it will be necessary to compare active learning to traditional methods.

The teaching model based on objective, measurable, and linear knowledge no longer seems to be the most appropriate, given the new responsibilities of pharmacists, who should focus their practices on patient care. The objective of the present study was to analyze students' perception about preparedness to pharmacy practice and to patient-centered care, and identify experiential training barriers Two discussion groups were formed with 12 and 13 individuals to present their perceptions about teaching and learning for pharmaceutical care. The analysis followed the methodology of Bardin. The analysis of the answers indicates that there is a significant gap in the training of pharmacists, with a strong emphasis on theoretical issues and less focus on knowledge acquisition and interpersonal communication, generating poor professional training and relationship barriers. In general, students do not feel prepared to deal with patients. These students identify the lack of infrastructure, such as the lack of a pharmacy and underutilization of the hospital, deficiencies in the curriculum such as the lack of key subjects, lack of clinical practice, and lack of preparation of some teachers, with an excess of classes following the lecture format. These factors influence the teaching and learning of clinical and communication skills, which undermine the pharmacists' ability to carry out clinical interventions, as well as affect the pharmaceutical-patient and pharmaceutical-physician relationship. These results suggest that for the pharmacists' clinical training it is necessary to rethink whether the infrastructure, the curriculum, and the teaching method are adequate for the development of skills and competences.

Background: the aim of this article was to obtain the opinions of a pharmacist teachers group regarding the pharmaceutical care course model most suited to Brazil. Methods: five teachers of pharmaceutical care courses in public Faculty of Pharmacy in Brazil were selected to participate. Participants were asked to provide their perceptions about 3 predetermined questions regarding the content that should be taught in pharmaceutical care course, skills that should be taught in the course, and learning activities that are necessary to develop the knowledge and skills that are taught. Data were subjected to a content analysis. Results: the focus group identified 5 categories related to the students' development of professional identity: competences to pharmaceutical care; challenges to teach; instructional design; learning assessment; and barriers to the application of the teaching method. Conclusion: the report of this focus group shows that new teaching methods should be implemented to ensure effective pharmaceutical care courses.