A Public Health Pharmacy Course at a Malaysian Pharmacy School

Abstract

Objectives. To develop and implement a new course on public health into the bachelor of pharmacy (BPharm) curriculum in Malaysia. Design. A required 2-credit-hour course was designed to provide an overview of public health pharmacy roles and the behavioral aspects of human healthcare issues. Graded activities included nursing home visits, in-class quizzes, mini-projects, and poster sessions, and a comprehensive final examination. Assessment. The majority of the students performed well on the class activities and 93 (71.5%) of the 130 students enrolled received a grade of B or higher. A Web-based survey was administered at the end of the semester and 90% of students indicated that they had benefited from the course and were glad that it was offered. The majority of students agreed that the course made an impact in preparing them for their future role as pharmacists and expanded their understanding of the public health roles of a pharmacist. Conclusions. A public health pharmacy course was successfully designed and implemented in the BPharm curriculum. This study highlighted the feasibilities of introducing courses that are of global relevance into a Malaysian pharmacy curriculum. The findings from the students' evaluation suggest the needs to incorporate a similar course in all pharmacy schools in the country and will be used as a guide to improve the contents and methods of delivery of the course at our school.

Poster Project to Emphasize Public Health in the Pharmacy Curriculum

“…'' 6 In many colleges and schools of pharmacy in the United States and around the world, public health material has been implemented in integrated public health courses within the PharmD curriculum, many of which involve traditional classroom instruction supplemented by brief active learning or application exercises. [7][8][9][10] Prior to the fall 2005 semester, this also was the case at the North Dakota State University (NDSU) College of Pharmacy, Nursing and Allied Sciences. Public health material was taught using traditional lecture and case studies and assessed using multiple-choice examinations and case study assignments.…”

Pharmacy student perceptions of public health service roles and responsibilities

“…There are other, but few, reports describing pharmacy student perceptions of public health in the context of content delivered in their curriculum. Both American and Malaysian first‐year students were overwhelmingly supportive of a required public health course at their respective colleges of pharmacy and agreed that knowledge gained in their public health course would be required for their future pharmacy practice and have a positive impact on their community [20,21] . Although our programme does not currently contain a distinct course, formal familiarity with public health subject matter did not appear to be a necessary precursor to positive perceptions, even among first‐year pharmacy students who had limited exposure to pharmacy contexts at the time of the survey.…”

The Teaching of Subjects Related to Pharmacovigilance in Malaysian Pharmacy Undergraduate Programs

“…In Malaysia, pharmacists are recognized as part of the public health workforce [27], and MADRAC has recognized pharmacists as ADR reporters since its establishment in 1987 [4,27]. To enable pharmacists to practice effectively in the field of pharmacovigilance, there is a corresponding need for pharmacy students (i.e., future pharmacy practitioners) to be adequately trained and exposed to the current problems and challenges of practicing and implementing pharmacovigilance.…”