Investigation of final-year pharmacy students' views on professionalism and ethics in pharmacy practice: an interventional study

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the effects of educational intervention on final‐year pharmacy students' views on professional attitudes and actions required for the present day pharmacy practice. Methods Final‐year pharmacy students (Class 2018) of the largest faculty of pharmacy in north‐east Nigeria were enrolled in this study. Interventional lecture and students small group discussions on situational dilemmas in pharmacy practice, highlighting the application of the Oath of Pharmacist and the Pharmacists' Code of Ethics, were instituted. Efficacy of the educational intervention was assessed using eight items of Professionalism in Pharmacy Practice Questionnaire. Statistical analysis was done using descriptive statistics and paired sample t‐test. Key findings Fifty‐seven students (82.4% of the entire final‐year class) participated in the study and completed the pre‐ and post‐intervention questionnaires. Of the eight items, seven improved significantly (P < 0.05), whereas the remaining one item also improved but this time with no significant difference. Conclusion This study showed that students' views on attitudes and behaviours related to professionalism and ethics in pharmacy practice improved following an educational intervention.

Assessment of professionalism among pharmacy students: A pilot study exploring professionalism tenets and associated factors

“…Students reported high mean overall professionalism scores and high mean tenet scores across all three professional years, consistent with other studies done in the United Kingdom and Nigeria, where final-year students perceived themselves as having a high level of professionalism (Hanna, Gillen & Hall, 2017;Okoro, 2019). However, in study, not only final-year pharmacy students reported high levels of professionalism but also those in their first and second professional years.…”

Assessment of Community Pharmacy Professionals’ Attitude and Perception Towards Ethical Issues in Amhara Region, Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Survey 2020

“…Educational intervention appeared to positively influence graduates' professional practice. 31,32 However, significant proportion of the participants (37.7%) in this study indicated lack of ethical knowledge as a barrier to discussing ethical issues with customers. This informs the adequacy and teaching approaches of ethics course in our country may be questionable and needs further investigation.…”

Behaviours that contribute to pharmacist professionalism: a scoping review

“…Pharmacy students’ agreement with ‘tenets’ of professionalism was increasingly incorporated into routine assessments to measure educational impact and growth in professional skills over time 35. However, attitudes, values and beliefs proved challenging to measure, and it was unclear how they translate into the professional behaviours that shape society’s perception of and the impact of the pharmacy profession 36 37. This prompted research that described pharmacist professional behaviours that are demonstrated as a result of the individual’s values and beliefs 30 36 37.…”

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