Looking Ahead to 2030: Survey of Evolving Needs in Pharmacy Education

Abstract

In order to keep pharmacy education relevant to a rapidly-evolving future, this study sought to identify key insights from leaders from a broad array of pharmacy and non-pharmacy industries on the future of the pharmacy profession, pharmaceutical sciences, and pharmacy education. Thought leaders representing a variety of industries were surveyed regarding their perspectives on the future of pharmacy practice, pharmaceutical science disciplines, and pharmacy education in seven domains. From 46 completed surveys, top challenges/threats were barriers that limit clinical practice opportunities, excessive supply of pharmacists, and high drug costs. Major changes in the drug distribution system, automation/robotics, and new therapeutic approaches were identified as the top technological disrupters. Key drivers of pharmacy education included the primary care provider shortage, growing use of technology and data, and rising drug costs. The most significant sources of job growth outside of retail and hospital settings were managed care organizations, technology/biotech/pharmaceutical companies, and ambulatory care practices. Needs in the industry included clinical management of complex patients, leadership and management, pharmaceutical scientists, and implementation science. Knowledge gaps were pharmacists not recognizing their value on the health care team, preparation to embrace and lead change, and expertise in data science and analytics. Pharmacy schools will need to address several disruptive trends to future-proof their curricula, including expanding patient management skills, leadership and management training, technology, and data analytics.

Need for Expansion of Pharmacy Education Globally for the Growing Field of Nanomedicine

“…Data show that academic courses are the leading source of information, and pharmacy students, in general, show poor knowledge about fundamental nanotechnology science and its applications. Hence, there is an impending need to effectively incorporate education and training in nanomedicines and nanodiagnostics in curricular and cocurricular pharmacy courses and activities, respectively [40][41][42]. At Midwestern University (MWU), the College of Pharmacy (COP) only offers a year-round, three-year Pharm D program, where graduates receive the standard Doctor of Pharmacy degree (no other graduate/professional/certificate degrees are included or integrated).…”

“…The US healthcare system has developed dramatically over the past decade, where significant changes in the drug distribution system, automation/robotics, and advanced targeted/complex nanoscale therapeutic approaches were acknowledged as eminent technological disrupters, while the main drivers of US pharmacy education still involve a primary care provider shortage, rising medication/medical service costs, and the growing application of technology and data analysis [42]. To maintain the pharmacist's essential role in the rapidly advancing medical marketplace, academic pharmacy education and postgraduate training need to adapt and adopt multi-faceted technological sciences and their applications, such as nanotechnology, biotechnology/precision medicine, bio/material science, and robotics/3D printing [43].…”

Integrating big data computational skills in education to facilitate reproducibility and transparency in pharmaceutical sciences

“…However, a gap exists between the current state of pharmaceutical sciences graduate education and the core big data analytical techniques needed by pharmaceutical and clinical pharmacy scientists. 7 In the current pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences graduate education curricula, students are required to learn biostatistics as part of the required coursework, which focuses on the understanding of statistical tests but lacks discussion on transparency and reproducibility in data analysis. 8 Furthermore, statistical analysis skills are only part of the analytical techniques that are required for big data analysis.…”

Pharmacy undergraduate programs: Development of an adaptive curriculum for student success

“…Research settings are equally broad for pharmacists ranging from drug discovery to translational drug testing, diagnostics, and global regulatory science positions [ 16 , 17 ]. Additional career settings include healthcare policy, health economics, patient advocacy, government lobbyists, data analyst, and other future-proofing non-traditional roles (such as, integrated technology/robotics, ambulatory and managed care, and pharmaceutical scientists) [ 13 , 18 ]. Today's pharmacists participate in a world of professional and individual diversity, often with little or no additional training to position them as local, national, or global leaders within their areas of interest [ 19 , 20 ].…”