Exploring worldwide training pathways that enable clinical pharmacy career development.

Abstract

Background: Pharmaceutical education is crucial for preparing pharmacists for evolving professional practice. The clinical component of pharmaceutical education and practice has grown and improved globally, though its implementation varies. Training pathways for clinical pharmacy careers vary worldwide.

Objective: This study aimed to explore training pathways enabling career development in clinical pharmacy.

Methods: In-depth interviews on clinical pharmacy career development were conducted with a purposive sample of academic and practice experts from thirteen countries, selected based on a prior literature review. Interviews were recorded following participants' consent, transcribed verbatim, thematically analyzed by one researcher, and verified by a second. Disagreements were resolved through discussion with a third researcher.

Results: In ten of the analyzed countries, the competencies required to perform clinical activities were considered the foundation of the pharmacy profession, suggesting that undergraduate education is sufficient to perform clinical pharmacy activities. Reported training-related success factors associated with the development of a career in clinical pharmacy included: interprofessional education, focus on the health context of each country, ensuring students' readiness, practice site partnerships, patient-centricity and patient contact, good mentorship and preceptorship, time and work flexibility of the candidates, effective training evaluation and, financial support for training. Conversely, shortage of mentors and teachers with clinical practice experience, slow responsiveness of the regulatory environment, insufficient funding, resistance to change, and education-practice mismatch were identified as training-related constraints.

Conclusion: Clinical activities form the foundation of the pharmacy profession in most countries, and undergraduate education directly provides the skills to undertake these, even though optional postgraduate education may be pursued. Understanding existing training pathways, including success factors and implementation challenges, can inform the creation, development, and optimization of education for clinical pharmacy careers.