Abstract
To produce competent clinical pharmacists in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, educational institutions faces challenges, including a limited number of training sites, trained assessors, and variations in pharmacy practice models. The aims of the current study were to explore curriculum development for introductory pharmacy practice experience in pharmacy education, and to implement and evaluate the effects of virtual education on clinical pharmacy practice. This was a longitudinal interventional study, combining prospective and retrospective approaches. All final level students at the study site (n = 233) of both sexes were included over a period of three and a half years (seven semesters), from 2014 August to 2018 January. The control (no virtual education) and test (virtual education) groups comprised 93 and 140 students, respectively. Among the 93 students enrolled into the control group 21, 34, and 38 were distributed into three individual control group semesters. The mean course assessment score for the control group was 87.33, with a skewness value of -0.675. Comparison of scores among each semester in the control group revealed no difference in the distribution of grades. Mean total score for the test group was 84.39, with a skewness value of -0.444. To produce competent clinical pharmacists, academic institutions require effective curricula. Implementation of new pedagogies, such as virtual pharmacy and other simulation-based course developments, can resolve the current crisis in pharmacy practice education in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.