title: Pharmacy education instruction: Preference and practices, Saudi students' perception.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The methods of instruction in pharmacy education are crucial and meant to suit the professional development and encompass the advanced variety of services and functions provided by the pharmacists to serve individual patients. The aim of this study was to determine the students' opinions on the adopted and preferred methods of instruction in pharmacy colleges in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Opinions of Saudi pharmacy students regarding the adopted methods of learning were measured using a pretested questionnaire combined with Likert-type scales.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Three hundred pharmacy students were interviewed. Direct type of lecturing was dominant (53.7%). The most frequently used language of instruction was combined English and Arabic (48.8%), that was mostly preferred by 52.5% of the students. Handouts were the most adopted post-lecture learning method (48.3%), while only 5.9% used student's self-written notes. A cocktail of traditional and electronic aids was used as admitted by 68.7% and 59.3% of the students who preferred this lecture delivery method. Almost half (49.3%) of the students agreed of having a routine fair guidance and support when referring to their lecturers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study outcomes had revealed a practical guidance to be considered for instituting preferred modes of instruction to upgrading students' capacities for better understanding and acquiring academic and professional skills.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Taif University, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Mirghani A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Yousif
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, College of Pharmacy, Taif University, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Ahmed S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Eldalo
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Taif University, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Mustafa A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Abd Allah
authors.affiliation: Pharm. D student, College of Pharmacy, Taif University, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Mohammed A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Al-Sawat
authors.affiliation: Pharm. D student, College of Pharmacy, Taif University, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Haitham M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Al-Wahaibi
authors.affiliation: Pharm. D student, College of Pharmacy, Taif University, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Abd Allah S
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Al-Osaimi
authors.affiliation: Pharm. D student, College of Pharmacy, Taif University, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Salman H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Al-Gethami
keywords: Education; Instruction; Perception; Pharmacy; Students