Aljadhey Hisham, Asiri Yousef, Albogami Yaser, Spratto George, Alshehri Mohammed
College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
School of Pharmacy, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26505, United States.
Saudi Pharm J. 2017 Jan;25(1):88-92. doi: 10.1016/j.jsps.2016.02.001. Epub 2016 Feb 20.
Pharmacy education in developing countries faces many challenges. An assessment of the challenges and opportunities for the future of pharmacy education in Saudi Arabia has not been conducted. The purpose of the study was to ascertain the views and opinions of pharmacy education stakeholders regarding the current issues challenging pharmacy education, and to discuss the future of pharmacy education in Saudi Arabia. A total of 48 participants attended a one-day meeting in October 2011, designed especially for the purpose of this study. The participants were divided into six round-table discussion sessions with eight persons in each group. Six major themes were explored in these sessions, including the need to improve pharmacy education, program educational outcomes, adoption of an integrated curriculum, the use of advanced teaching methodologies, the need to review assessment methods, and challenges and opportunities to improve pharmacy experiential training. The round-table discussion sessions were videotaped and transcribed verbatim and analyzed by two independent researchers. Participants agreed that pharmacy education in the country needs improvement. Participants agreed on the need for clear, measureable, and national educational outcomes for pharmacy programs in the Kingdom. Participants raised the importance of collaboration between faculty members and departments to design and implement an integrated curriculum. They also emphasized the use of new teaching methodologies focusing on student self-learning and active learning. Assessments were discussed with a focus on the use of new tools, confidentiality of examinations, and providing feedback to students. Several points were raised regarding the opportunities to improve pharmacy experiential training, including the need for more experiential sites and qualified preceptors, addressing variations in training quality between experiential sites, the need for accreditation of experiential sites, and the use of technology to track experiential activities and assessments. Several challenges for improving pharmacy education in Saudi Arabia were discussed by stakeholders. To tackle these challenges facing most pharmacy schools in the Kingdom, national efforts need to be considered by involving all stakeholders.
发展中国家的药学教育面临诸多挑战。沙特阿拉伯尚未对药学教育未来的挑战与机遇进行评估。本研究的目的是确定药学教育利益相关者对当前困扰药学教育问题的看法和意见，并探讨沙特阿拉伯药学教育的未来。2011年10月，共有48名参与者参加了为期一天的会议，该会议专为本次研究目的而设。参与者被分成六个圆桌讨论小组，每组八人。在这些会议中探讨了六个主要主题，包括改善药学教育的必要性、课程教育成果、采用综合课程、使用先进教学方法、审查评估方法的必要性以及改善药学实践培训的挑战与机遇。圆桌讨论会议进行了录像，并逐字转录，由两名独立研究人员进行分析。参与者一致认为该国的药学教育需要改进。参与者一致认为沙特王国的药学课程需要明确、可衡量的国家教育成果。参与者提出了教师和各部门之间合作设计和实施综合课程的重要性。他们还强调使用注重学生自主学习和主动学习的新教学方法。讨论了评估问题，重点是新工具的使用、考试的保密性以及向学生提供反馈。就改善药学实践培训的机会提出了几点，包括需要更多的实践场所和合格的带教老师、解决实践场所之间培训质量的差异、实践场所的认证需求以及使用技术跟踪实践活动和评估。利益相关者讨论了沙特阿拉伯改善药学教育面临的若干挑战。为应对沙特王国大多数药学院面临的这些挑战，需要考虑通过让所有利益相关者参与来做出国家层面的努力。
