BackgroundOver the past decade the profession of pharmacy has steadily evolved. The New
Pharmacy Contract exposed pharmacists to a fundamental change in traditional
pharmacy business models.ObjectiveThis study will consider whether community pharmacists, pharmacy
undergraduates and academic staff within the United Kingdom believe it would
be beneficial to incorporate a business management module within the Master
of Pharmacy (MPharm) undergraduate degree along with potential mechanisms of
delivery.MethodsFurther to ethical approval, the questionnaire was distributed to UK
registered pharmacists (n=600), MPharm undergraduates (n=441) and academic
staff at Liverpool John Moores University (n=44). The questions were
formatted as multiple choice questions, Likert scales or the open answer
type. On questionnaire completion and return, data were analysed using
simple frequencies, cross tabulations and non-parametric techniques in the
SPSS (v18).ResultsThe majority of pharmacists (84.9%) confirmed that business skills affect
their everyday responsibilities to a considerable extent. A high proportion
of undergraduate students (92.8%) believed that business management skills
will impact on their future role. In total, 64.3% of this cohort declared
that if a module were introduced they would study it. The majority of staff
(79%) agreed that business skills are gaining increased importance within
the field of pharmacy.ConclusionsData suggest that business skills are of relevance to the practice of
pharmacy. Appropriate staff to deliver the taught material would include
business owners / lecturers and teaching practitioners covering topics
including management, leadership, interpersonal skills and regulation. We
suggest the inclusion of a business module with the MPharm degree would be
of great value in preparing individuals for practice within a modern day
healthcare setting.