Hospital pharmacists' perceptions of the suitability of doctor of pharmacy graduates in hospital settings in Thailand.
BACKGROUND
Thai pharmacy education has moved to an all Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) programme. However, there has been no previous research about the perceptions regarding the suitability of PharmD graduates employed in hospital settings, which is the major pharmacy workforce in Thailand.


METHODS
A cross-sectional survey questionnaire was distributed to 180 hospital pharmacists at the 2013 Association of Hospital Pharmacy (Thailand) conference. This study aimed to explore Thai hospital pharmacists' perceptions concerning the suitability of the PharmD graduates employed in hospital settings and the competency differences between the Bachelor of Pharmacy (BPharm) and PharmD graduates. Descriptive statistics were used to present the participants' demographics and their perceptions. An inductive thematic analysis was used to analyse the open-ended written answers.


RESULTS
Ninety-eight valid responses were included in the data analysis (response rate of 55.6 %). The majority of the respondents (76.5 %) felt that the PharmD graduates were suited for the hospital setting and addressed its need for more professionals working in pharmaceutical care and with multi-disciplinary teams. Approximately 55 % of respondents agreed that there were competency differences between the BPharm and PharmD graduates. Major themes emerged in response to the open-ended written answers showing that PharmD graduates had high competency in patient care services and readiness to work, particularly in large hospitals, due to their training to work in specialised areas (e.g., special clinics, ward rounds). However, PharmD graduates require more training in health promotion and humanistic skills and need the system to promote the role of PharmD in pharmaceutical care.


CONCLUSIONS
PharmD graduates were suited for hospital settings. However, there were concerns regarding the suitability of the PharmD graduates for the community hospital and primary care hospital settings because of their insufficient training in health promotion and disease prevention. Half of the respondents perceived PharmD graduates as having higher competencies in clinical activities and being more prepared to work than BPharm graduates. However, the other half of the respondents perceived the competency of both pharmacy qualifications as being similar, as PharmD graduates provide non-clinical activities similar to BPharm graduates due to the high workload in dispensing services and the shortage of hospital pharmacists, which prevent PharmD graduates from providing direct pharmaceutical care services.
School of Pharmacy, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK. paxtc2@nottingham.ac.uk.
Teeraporn
T
Chanakit
School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Science, University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus, Jalan Broga, 43500, Semenyih, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia. BeeYean.Low@nottingham.edu.my.
Bee Yean
BY
Low
Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla, 90112, Thailand. payom.w@psu.ac.th.
Payom
P
Wongpoowarak
Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ubon Ratchathani University, Warin Chamrap, Ubon Ratchathani, 34190, Thailand. summana@hotmail.com.
Summana
S
Moolasarn
School of Pharmacy, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK. Pazcwa@exmail.nottingham.ac.uk.
Claire
C
Anderson
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004514:Education, Pharmacy, Graduate / Q000379:methods; D004651:Employment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D005791:Patient Care / Q000379:methods; D010465:Perception; D010607:Pharmacy Service, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration; D024382:Professional Role; D018570:Risk Assessment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D062606:Tertiary Care Centers; D013785:Thailand