A conceptual framework toward identifying and analyzing challenges to the advancement of pharmacy

Abstract

The framework was found to offer valuable insight as an explanatory and diagnostic tool in policy-relevant research. By emphasizing the processual and contextual nature of reprofessionalization, the framework presents an alternative approach to traditional theories. This study also raises important questions regarding the status of pharmacy in Jordan and aims to provide guidance for local development and much-needed reprofessionalization drives.

A Hospital-based Pharmacy Internship Program in Jordan

“…2 Similar observations have been made by others in the Middle East. 3,4 Pharmaceutical care and the involvement of pharmacists in clinical decisions are not emphasized enough in the educational curricula and are not widely accepted or acknowledged socially in Jordan, as in most of the region. 3,5 This is attributed primarily to the pharmacy school curriculum, which is traditionally science-focused and theory-based.…”

“…3,4 Pharmaceutical care and the involvement of pharmacists in clinical decisions are not emphasized enough in the educational curricula and are not widely accepted or acknowledged socially in Jordan, as in most of the region. 3,5 This is attributed primarily to the pharmacy school curriculum, which is traditionally science-focused and theory-based. 3,5 A study published in 2008 reported that the pharmacy curricula in Jordanian universities have a significantly low number of hours allocated to pharmacology and pharmaceutical care topics, with the highest being one-fifth of the total curricular hours.…”

“…3,5 This is attributed primarily to the pharmacy school curriculum, which is traditionally science-focused and theory-based. 3,5 A study published in 2008 reported that the pharmacy curricula in Jordanian universities have a significantly low number of hours allocated to pharmacology and pharmaceutical care topics, with the highest being one-fifth of the total curricular hours. 6 Though we realize that the curricula in all universities have been modified over the past several years, the credit hours for pharmaceutical care topics are still A J P E A c c e p t e d D r a f t considered insufficient and less than those allocated to general sciences, pharmaceutics, and medicinal chemistry.…”

“…In addition, most of the faculty at schools of pharmacy are not practitioners, and there is thus a gap between the needs and challenges of the real world and the education and training offered. 3,5 It has also been reported that graduate pharmacists in Jordan are generally unaware of the existing pharmacy sectors or of pharmacists' roles in various settings and therefore usually lack a career direction. 3 The gap between the pharmacy curriculum and practice was apparent when pharmacy graduates were hired at King Hussein Cancer Center (KHCC).…”

“…3,5 It has also been reported that graduate pharmacists in Jordan are generally unaware of the existing pharmacy sectors or of pharmacists' roles in various settings and therefore usually lack a career direction. 3 The gap between the pharmacy curriculum and practice was apparent when pharmacy graduates were hired at King Hussein Cancer Center (KHCC). The pharmacists were not fully aware of the nature of practice in a clinical or hospital setting and did not have the necessary skills or knowledge to perform essential tasks such as sterile compounding, effective patient counseling, and providing drug information.…”