An Evaluation of Continuing Medical Education among Pharmacists in Various Pharmacy Sectors in the Asir Region of Saudi Arabia
Background: Continuing medical training is an important component of modern medical practice because it maintains the ability of physicians to provide up-to-date patient care. This study explored pharmacists’ involvement in CME activities and investigated the barriers to undertaking CME activities i...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-07-01
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| Series: | Healthcare |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/11/14/2060 |
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| author | Geetha Kandasamy Dalia Almaghaslah Mona Almanasef |
| author_facet | Geetha Kandasamy Dalia Almaghaslah Mona Almanasef |
| author_sort | Geetha Kandasamy |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Continuing medical training is an important component of modern medical practice because it maintains the ability of physicians to provide up-to-date patient care. This study explored pharmacists’ involvement in CME activities and investigated the barriers to undertaking CME activities in Saudi Arabia. It also aimed to highlight the obstacles that prevent pharmacists from participating in CE activities. Methods: This study used a cross-sectional self-administered web-based questionnaire. It was conducted among practising pharmacists in various pharmacy fields in the Asir region of Saudi Arabia. The structured questionnaire consisted of four domains. A convenience sampling strategy was used to select and recruit study participants. The results were described in terms of frequencies and percentages. A Chi-square test was used to assess the differences for categorical data. <i>p</i> value of <0.05 was considered significant. Results and conclusions: A total of 173 pharmacists participated in the study. Attending the conference was the most popular activity (67%), followed by training courses (61.8%) and approved web-based activities (60.1%). Regarding barriers that prevented pharmacists from participating in CME activities, a lack of a scientific database or books was the top-rated barrier that hindered pharmacists from obtaining the required CME hours (79.8%). Another important barrier was the cost of the activities (74.6%). Regarding the area of practice for which pharmacists would be interested in attending CME activities, public health was the favourite (89.6%), followed by personal skills (82.7%). Gathering the required CME hours for re-registration was the main motive for attending CME activities in most of the pharmacy sectors. Policymakers should consider shifting the current CME system to the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) model, which promotes engagement in professional development activities that are relevant to the scope of practice. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T01:01:29Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4236093b80f84a288bc0b77d17f5d3c2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-9032 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T01:01:29Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Healthcare |
| spelling | doaj.art-4236093b80f84a288bc0b77d17f5d3c22023-11-18T19:33:24ZengMDPI AGHealthcare2227-90322023-07-011114206010.3390/healthcare11142060An Evaluation of Continuing Medical Education among Pharmacists in Various Pharmacy Sectors in the Asir Region of Saudi ArabiaGeetha Kandasamy0Dalia Almaghaslah1Mona Almanasef2Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, King Khalid University, Abha 61421, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, King Khalid University, Abha 61421, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, King Khalid University, Abha 61421, Saudi ArabiaBackground: Continuing medical training is an important component of modern medical practice because it maintains the ability of physicians to provide up-to-date patient care. This study explored pharmacists’ involvement in CME activities and investigated the barriers to undertaking CME activities in Saudi Arabia. It also aimed to highlight the obstacles that prevent pharmacists from participating in CE activities. Methods: This study used a cross-sectional self-administered web-based questionnaire. It was conducted among practising pharmacists in various pharmacy fields in the Asir region of Saudi Arabia. The structured questionnaire consisted of four domains. A convenience sampling strategy was used to select and recruit study participants. The results were described in terms of frequencies and percentages. A Chi-square test was used to assess the differences for categorical data. <i>p</i> value of <0.05 was considered significant. Results and conclusions: A total of 173 pharmacists participated in the study. Attending the conference was the most popular activity (67%), followed by training courses (61.8%) and approved web-based activities (60.1%). Regarding barriers that prevented pharmacists from participating in CME activities, a lack of a scientific database or books was the top-rated barrier that hindered pharmacists from obtaining the required CME hours (79.8%). Another important barrier was the cost of the activities (74.6%). Regarding the area of practice for which pharmacists would be interested in attending CME activities, public health was the favourite (89.6%), followed by personal skills (82.7%). Gathering the required CME hours for re-registration was the main motive for attending CME activities in most of the pharmacy sectors. Policymakers should consider shifting the current CME system to the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) model, which promotes engagement in professional development activities that are relevant to the scope of practice.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/11/14/2060continuing medical educationcontinuing professional developmentcommunity pharmacySaudi Arabiapharmacist |
| spellingShingle | Geetha Kandasamy Dalia Almaghaslah Mona Almanasef An Evaluation of Continuing Medical Education among Pharmacists in Various Pharmacy Sectors in the Asir Region of Saudi Arabia Healthcare continuing medical education continuing professional development community pharmacy Saudi Arabia pharmacist |
| title | An Evaluation of Continuing Medical Education among Pharmacists in Various Pharmacy Sectors in the Asir Region of Saudi Arabia |
| title_full | An Evaluation of Continuing Medical Education among Pharmacists in Various Pharmacy Sectors in the Asir Region of Saudi Arabia |
| title_fullStr | An Evaluation of Continuing Medical Education among Pharmacists in Various Pharmacy Sectors in the Asir Region of Saudi Arabia |
| title_full_unstemmed | An Evaluation of Continuing Medical Education among Pharmacists in Various Pharmacy Sectors in the Asir Region of Saudi Arabia |
| title_short | An Evaluation of Continuing Medical Education among Pharmacists in Various Pharmacy Sectors in the Asir Region of Saudi Arabia |
| title_sort | evaluation of continuing medical education among pharmacists in various pharmacy sectors in the asir region of saudi arabia |
| topic | continuing medical education continuing professional development community pharmacy Saudi Arabia pharmacist |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/11/14/2060 |
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