Pharmacist-led education curriculum for fourth-year medical students: a single-center experience
Pharmacy Practice
Bashayer Mohammed Alshehail1Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, College of Clinical Pharmacy, (Pharmacy Practice Department), Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
Haytham Abdulaziz Wali2King Faisal University, College of Clinical Pharmacy, (Department of Pharmacy Practice), Al-Ahsa, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Zainab Al Jamea3King Fahd Hospital of The University/Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, (Pharmaceutical Care department), Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
Nouf Alotaibi4Umm Al Qura university, College of Pharmacy, (Clinical Pharmacy Department), Makkah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Abdulsalam Alasseri3King Fahd Hospital of The University/Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, (Pharmaceutical Care department), Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
Abdulaziz Aldahami3King Fahd Hospital of The University/Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, (Pharmaceutical Care department), Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
Abdulsattar AlHussain3King Fahd Hospital of The University/Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, (Pharmaceutical Care department), Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
Duaa Alsulaiman3King Fahd Hospital of The University/Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, (Pharmaceutical Care department), Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
Ebtesam ALGeri3King Fahd Hospital of The University/Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, (Pharmaceutical Care department), Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
Mohammad Alhassan3King Fahd Hospital of The University/Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, (Pharmaceutical Care department), Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
Salma Ansassy3King Fahd Hospital of The University/Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, (Pharmaceutical Care department), Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
Hani Alharbi3King Fahd Hospital of The University/Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, (Pharmaceutical Care department), Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
Fatma AlRoubia3King Fahd Hospital of The University/Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, (Pharmaceutical Care department), Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
Mohab Manna3King Fahd Hospital of The University/Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, (Pharmaceutical Care department), Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
Marwan Alwazzeh5King Fahd Hospital of The University/Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, (Internal Medicine Department), Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
Sara Al-Warthan5King Fahd Hospital of The University/Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, (Internal Medicine Department), Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
Background: Doctors are usually challenged by the transition between theoretical basic science knowledge and actual clinical practice. Thus, a critical educational intervention is the early incorporation of pharmacists into the pharmacotherapy courses for undergraduate medical students from their college years and moving to the practice setting. Objective: We sought to determine if a pharmacist-led education course would improve medical students' knowledge of general pharmacotherapy topics. Methods: All fourth-year female medical students were invited to enroll in the pharmacy practice curriculum between January and March 2022. The program was divided into three main domains: formal lectures, a hands-on prescription writing skills session, and on-site pharmacy practice sessions. The pharmacy practice session was divided into three sections: first section pharmacy practice, second section pharmacy innovation, and the third section clinical pharmacy. Those who completed the curriculum were requested to complete pre- and post-session assessments and curriculum evaluations. Results: One hundred fourteen medical students enrolled in the pharmacy practice module. One hundred eleven (97.4%) completed the pre-and post-course assessment. After completing the module, the medical students' knowledge scores improved from pre- to post-course. A significant difference in the overall knowledge was observed between the pre-course and post-course scores (9.51 versus 16.04; p<0.001). The difference between the pre-course and post-course scores was also significant when comparing the knowledge per each part of the assessment, showing an average score of 2.78 versus 4.05 (p<0.001) for the first section; 3.39 versus 5.49 (p<0.001) for the second section; 3.34 versus 6.48 (p<0.001) for the third section. The program received overall positive feedback; the experience was rated overall as "Excellent" by 73% of the participants. Conclusion: We have demonstrated the impact of a pharmacist-led curriculum for medical students on improving their knowledge of fundamental pharmacy practice areas.
