Self-care education across Canadian pharmacy schools: Curriculum survey findings

Abstract

Background: Self-care instruction in pharmacy curricula is essential given the impact pharmacists have in caring for patients in the community and their evolving role in this area. The primary objective of this study was to strengthen our current understanding of self-care education across undergraduate Canadian pharmacy programs. Methods: A national curriculum survey and follow-up phone interview was conducted in 2019 to assess the quantity and quality of self-care instruction across Canadian pharmacy schools. Representatives were selected based on theirparticipation in the Association of Faculties of Pharmacy of Canada Self-Care Therapeutics and Minor Ailments special interest group. Results: Responses were received from all 10 pharmacy schools in Canada. Self-care education varies across Canadian pharmacy curricula, reflecting differences in scopes of practice across provinces, topics of interest and availability of space within curricula by the various faculties. Specifically, there was considerable variability in the number of hours devoted to self-care education, course content and methods for integration and teaching. Conclusions: Results of this study may help inform and evolve self-care curricula across the country. We argue that strategies for enhancing current programs may include establishing a minimum number of core hours and topics, expanding natural health product content and curricular content oversight by a lead faculty member. Can Pharm J (Ott) 2021;154:xx-xx.

Future Pharmacists’ Opinions on the Facilitation of Self-Care with Over-the-Counter Products and Whether This Should Remain a Core Role

“…In terms of implications, educators will be required to prepare students to prescribe both OTC medicines and POMs in their new role as an independent prescriber so it could be useful to use an integrated approach and heed the lessons learnt about barriers to effective OTC consultations from this current study and previous research [4,17,[31][32][33][34]. Moreover, experience from the UK and other countries such as, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States of America about pharmacist prescribing [56,57] will be invaluable to inform future practice If a UK pharmacy graduate qualifies as an independent prescriber at the point of registration (licensing), it is possible that many who subsequently work in the community sector will manage similar clinical conditions as they are doing currently.…”

“…The challenge for educators will be to find a way to incorporate the new responsibilities in the degree program whilst retaining the value of other roles such as OTC consultations. It is already known from previous work that the teaching of self-care and OTC medicines to pharmacy students is inconsistent [31][32][33]. For example, when Nakhla and colleagues investigated self-care education in ten Canadian schools of pharmacy, they found that education provision varied extensively.…”

“…For example, when Nakhla and colleagues investigated self-care education in ten Canadian schools of pharmacy, they found that education provision varied extensively. This led them to suggest that strategies to enhance current programs, including core requirements (such as hours and topics), may be useful [31]. Additionally, when Sinopoulou and Rutter examined approaches used to teach about OTC medicines from a global perspective (84 completed questionnaires were received from pharmacy schools in 24 countries), they concluded that there was mainly appropriate teaching about diagnosis and management of symptoms but that teaching methodologies could be reviewed to move beyond lectures, tutorials and workshops.…”

“…Additionally, a qualitative study (semi-structured interviews with 10 pharmacy students) was conducted in Australia to ascertain decision making about over-the-counter medicines [30]. Other studies have investigated self-care education provision across ten Canadian pharmacy schools [31] and approaches used to teach pharmacy students about OTC medicines in Iran [32] and across the globe [33]. Limited research has been conducted to determine UK-based pharmacy students' self-medication practice or to glean pharmacy students' opinions on a breadth of related areas (evidence-based practice and decision-making, the importance of pharmacist-led OTC consultations given other new roles, confidence with deregulations and restrictions imposed by manufacturers) [34].…”

Self-care and minor ailments: The view from Canada

“…Anecdotes from years past tell of the public turning to community pharmacists for help as the only healthcare provider in town, especially in rural parts of the country. 35 Pharmacists are highly regarded on this front. 36 , 37 Some attempts have been made to quantify this activity in Canada.…”