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Table 1 The inclusion criteria and the selection of participants [2, 6575]

From: Does a transition in education equate to a transition in practice? Thai stakeholder’s perceptions of the introduction of the Doctor of Pharmacy programme

Stakeholder group

Central

North

North-East

South

Total

Roles and importance in pharmacy education

Selection and recruitment

Method of involvement

1. Policy makers/regulatory bodies (n=10)

        

-The Pharmacy Council of Thailand (PCT) is the regulatory body for pharmacists in Thailand.

3

0

1

1

5

-The PCT has a role to protect and maintain the wellbeing of the public by maintaining standards and public trust in pharmacy (e.g., setting standards for conduct, ethics, and competency, accrediting pharmacy degree programmes and pharmacy educational institutions, processing licensure examination and registration). They must assure that pharmacists receive appropriate education and training and are competent to deliver services.

-Policy makers, who had or still have roles in curriculum change ever since the issue of an all-PharmD was raised in 1993, were invited by email or letter and telephone at least one month prior to the interview date.

-Eleven policy makers were invited to participate; one policy maker from the Pharmacy Council did not respond within the timeframe of the study.

Interview

-The Pharmacy Education Consortium of Thailand (PECT) has seventeen pharmacy educational institution members across Thailand.

1

1

3

0

5

-PECT aims to promote the advancement of pharmacy education, support the pharmacy professional practice, protect common interests among members, facilitate pharmacy student activities, and collaborative work with other professional organisations (e.g., PCT and Thai pharmacy associations).

-PECT prepared a government scholarship to support faculty development and by 1993 PECT signed the first bilateral collaboration between US and Thai pharmacy schools, the US-Thai Consortium for the Development of Pharmacy Education in Thailand. This consortium opened opportunities for Thai academic members and students to be trained and study in the US.

  

2. Pharmacy experts (n=13)

-Pharmacy experts or representatives of professional pharmacy associations in Thailand

-Hospital pharmacy (from both public and private hospitals)

-Community pharmacy

-Industrial pharmacy

-Public health and consumer protection

-Marketing pharmacy

1

2

3

3

1

0

0

0

0

0

1

1

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

0

3

3

3

3

1

Pharmacy experts and pharmacy practitioners are able to determine the competencies required to deliver the services that meet the needs of employers and customers.

-Pharmacy experts or representatives of professional associations were identified primarily through the public websites of their organisations, selected by researchers, and invited by email and telephone at least one month prior to the interview date.

-Experts or representatives from pharmacy associations from five areas in Thailand (e.g., the Association of Hospital Pharmacy (Thailand), the Community Pharmacy Association (Thailand), the Thai Industrial Pharmacist Association, the Marketing Pharmacy Association Thailand) and the Thai Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as well as law and consumer protection area and experts from the Pharmaceutical Association of Thailand, who were current practitioners, well known and were accepted by pharmacists in their professional practice areas, were invited.

-Sixteen experts or representatives of pharmacy organisations were invited to participate in this study; three experts (1 from a hospital, 1 from industry and 1 from marketing) did not respond within the timeframe of the study. n=13)

Interview

3. Academic staff (n=25)

-Dean

-Deputy dean (academic/professional development)

Ua1

U2

2

1

U3

1

1

U4

1

1

U5

1

1

5

4

-Faculties of pharmacy and academic members have responsibilities in terms of the quality of education and value of investment in higher education for students and families. Faculty members committed to lifelong learning in their specialty and continuous improvement of their teaching skills, devote sufficient time to teaching along with research, administrative or academic services (e.g., clinical roles) and also have a duty to develop learning opportunities and encourage pharmacy students to participate. Faculty staff have influence on promoting learning environments, demonstrate professional responsibility, encourage and assist their students to assume responsibility for their learning and express concern regarding student development.

-The criteria to select the universities were based on the region of the university, type of ownership, type of programme, year established and feasibility of study.

-Five universities (four public and one private university) were selected and invited and a letter requesting permission to conduct research with each faculty was sent to the dean. All faculty granted permission to conduct this research.

-Deans, deputy deans of academic affair or deans in pharmacy professional development and faculty members were invited.

-The details of the five faculties are as follows:

•U1 (public) used to offer BPharm and then changed to PC-PD & IP-PD

•U2 (private) used to offer BPharm and then changed to PC-PD & IP-PD

•U3 (public) offering PC-PD

•U4 (public) used to offer BPharm and then changed to PC-PD

•U5 (public) used to offer BPharm and PC-PD and then changed to PC-PD & IP-PD

-Interview

-Skypeb

-Telephone interviewb

Academic staff

-Pharmaceutical care area

-Industrial pharmacy/pharmaceutical sciences area

-Social and administrative pharmacy area

1

2

1

2

1

1

2

1

2

1

1

1

6

5

5

4. Students (n=9)

3

1

3

2

9

Students and their families invest finances and time to obtain a pharmacy degree and aim to learn within a pharmacy curriculum designed to prepare them for the profession. They have the right to expect that the PharmD programme has been sufficiently evaluated and meets the standards outlined by the PCT which should able to prepare them for a pharmacy professional career. Students should expect that the pharmacy curriculum is timely, practical and provide essential knowledge and skills for successful professional practice.

-Inclusion criteria were students who were currently studying in the final year of a 6-year PharmD programme because they had experience with the new 6-year PharmD programme or the students who were studying in the 5th year if their faculties did not have 6th year students during this study period (Aug-Oct 2013). Participation was voluntary.

-Students were invited to participate by a researcher at the cafeteria or library of their faculty at least 1 day prior to an interview date.

-Interview

-Telephone interview

5. Parents (n=4)

2

2

0

0

4

Parents play an important role in students’ university life (e.g., parental support in terms of facilitating personal, social, and academic development and finances). They are concerned about the accreditation of institutions for the mature development of their children and preparing their children for the profession.

-Inclusion criterion was a parent of the student who was currently studying in the final year of a 6-year PharmD programme.

-Researcher asked the students about the possibility of contact their parents to participate in this study.

-Most parents lived in other provinces. Therefore, parents were invited and interviewed by the researcher via telephone.

-Telephone interview

6. Pharmacists (n=30)

-Tertiary hospital

(Three pharmacists are the administrators)

-Community hospital

-Community pharmacy

-Private hospital

(One pharmacists is an administrator)

-Industrial

-Public health and consumer protection

-Marketing

-Research and development

2

0

2

1

1

0

2

0

3

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

4

4

2

1

0

2

0

2

2

0

1

0

1

0

0

0

11

4

5

2

2

2

2

2

Pharmacy experts and pharmacy practitioners are able to determine the competencies required to deliver services that meet the needs of the final user (e.g., patient, other health care providers and public).

Health care providers (doctors, nurses, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians), students and their parents were contacted directly at their workplace at least 1 day prior to an interview date. However, the patients (at two hospitals) and general population (at local supermarkets in urban and rural areas) were asked for their participation on the actual interview date, due to employing convenience sampling.

-Interview

7. Health care providers (n=18)

-Physicians

(Three physicians are the administrators)

-Nurses

(Two nurses are the administrators)

-Pharmacy technicians

1

2

2

1

2

0

5

2

2

0

0

1

7

6

5

The pharmacy profession has embraced a patient-focused role and works closely with other health care professionals. Health care providers’ opinions are very important for the development of the pharmacy curriculum as multidisciplinary education, especially in terms of advanced practice experience or clinical clerkships, during which pharmacy students are exposed to other health care providers and learn how to become a member of a team after they graduate. In addition, health care provider opinions will explain how other health profession view the role of pharmacists in health care teams.

Health care providers (doctors, nurses, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians) were invited directly at their workplace at least 1 day prior to an interview date.

-Interview

8. Patients (n=14) from two hospitals (tertiary care hospital and community hospital)

-In-Patient Department, IPD (n=5)

-Out-Patient Department, OPD (n=9)

0

0

4

6

1

3

0

0

5

9

-Pharmacists work with patients to ensure that they receive the best outcomes from their medications.

-They are the final users of pharmacy practitioners. Patients’ opinions are important to improve the quality of pharmacy services and enhance communication and expectations between patients and pharmacists, increase the quality of pharmacy education and also improve the accountability and transparency of health care delivered to patients.

-In-patients who had received pharmaceutical services on the medical wards from PharmD pharmacists within the last two weeks prior to interview. The nurses were requested to identify and invite patients who were willing to participate. Interviews took place bed-side on patients’ wards with respect for the privacy of patients’ interviews.

-Out-patients at chronic disease clinics (e.g., DM clinic, oncology clinic and warfarin clinic), who had received counselling services from PharmD pharmacists within the last three months. To minimise the selection bias from pharmacists, the patients had been selected by the researcher via OPD card screening on the visit day. If patients had pharmacy counselling in the last three months, then the researcher asked the pharmacist to invite patients to participate during the lag interval, while those patients were waiting to see their doctor or waiting for their prescription. Interviews took place in private counselling rooms.

-Interview

9. General population (n=7)

-Taxi driver

-Merchant

-Government officer

- Non-governmental

organisation (NGO)

0

1

1

1

0

0

0

0

1

2

0

0

0

0

1

0

1

3

2

1

-The roles of pharmacists and pharmacy education have changed. The perception of the general public regarding this change is important; for example, how they perceive the new role of pharmacists, the knowledge and skills required of pharmacists to provide better services for them, and whether they trust the advice that they may receive from pharmacists.

-Their opinions will help to determine how the pharmacy profession and education can improve public understanding and perceptions of pharmacists in the future.

General population at a local supermarket in Bangkok (capital city), Ubon Ratchathani and Songkhla province (outside the capital city).

-Interview

Total

40

28

48

14

130

   
  1. a U=University, b participants were asked for verbal consent before skype interview or telephone interview