Abstract
Purpose: To evaluate hospital pharmacists' clinical knowledge and practical skill levels for pharmaceutical care.
Methods: A quasi-experimental prospective longitudinal study design was used to evaluate the level of clinical skills with problem-based learning (PBL) sessions. Pharmacists' in three different government hospitals in Madinah, Saudi Arabia recorded their responses or assessments in their work manuals for preparing reports. Instructors encouraged interactive learning by presenting case studies, in which pharmacists had to interpret medical history and clinical assessments of various body systems. Course learning design also focused on drug use evaluation, monitoring plans, and reaching clinical evidence-based decision-making.
Results: A total of two hundred and fifty-five (255) hospital pharmacists participated in the study. The study sample was comprised of 128 (50.9 %) males and 127 (49.1 %) females. A significant (p < 0.01) difference was noticed between genders (male: 47.91 +/- 7.15, female: 50.31 +/- 4.88) for total mean scores of clinical skills. Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient for case data recitation was 0.91, while clinical assessment skills coefficient was 0.89. Overall, pharmacists reported that they "agree" (4.01 +/- 0.67) that they acquired the ability to use case data recitation taught in the PBL; they also reported a positive evaluation (4.48 +/- 0.58) of their ability to perform clinical data assessment.
Conclusion: The findings indicate that pharmacist's self-confidence to perform clinical assessment activities is low. Lack of confidence remains a critical education issue among pharmacists in the study setting.