Implementing FIP's global pharmaceutical education transformation vision in Sub-Saharan African countries

The realization of a competent, versatile and adaptable Pharmaceutical workforce which is a key component in achieving the World Health Organization Universal Health Coverage agenda in 2030 depends on the supply of adequately trained pharmacy workforce who can improve access to quality medicines while delivering quality pharmaceutical services. Despite the rise in the density of pharmacists across all World Health Organization regions, African countries still stay considerably behind in terms of absolute capacity per capita which means that the pharmacy workforce in Africa continues to be very low and not adequate to deliver the pharmaceutical services needs of the region. The International Pharmaceutical Federation is leading the transformation of pharmacy education in Sub-Saharan African countries to bridge this gap with a spotlight on increasing academic capacity, establishing needs-based education strategies and creating an enabling practice environment through advocacy. This commentary paper seeks to discuss the strategies such as the FIP-UNITWIN Programme and the Kenya-Nottingham Partnership utilized in transforming the pharmacy education and therefore the pharmaceutical workforce within the Sub-Saharan African Countries. This paper also gives a clue on subsequent steps which can advance pharmaceutical practice and science in the region

Factors influencing faculty perceptions of teaching workload

Background: Teaching workloads are often not clearly defined at academic institutions. Within health professional programs, the existence of both didactic and experiential teaching assignments make equitable distribution of teaching workloads more complex. Several reports in the literature have described the development of workload allocation formulas that have been predicted to improve faculty perceptions of fairness. Additional factors such as faculty shortage and lack of teaching support can influence faculty perceptions of workload. Objectives: The primary objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between the presence of workload measurement and allocation formulas and faculty satisfaction with workload. A secondary objective was to investigate the influence of several factors such as teaching support on workload dissatisfaction. Methods: Upper level administrators at six schools of pharmacy were interviewed in order to identify variables associated with workload assignments. This information was incorporated into a survey instrument to access faculty perceptions of teaching workload, and a link to the survey was sent via email to 690 faculty members at 12 pharmacy schools, with a request for their participation. Results: The survey response rate was 43%. Conclusions: The presence of workload measurement and workload allocation formulas were indicated by 37% and 14% of the respondents, respectively. The ability to participate in teaching schedule development appeared to improve workload satisfaction, whereas the presence of a workload allocation formula appeared to improve workload satisfaction and perceptions of fairness. A shortage of teaching support was the major factor associated with teaching workload dissatisfaction. © 2013 Elsevier Inc

Transforming pharmaceutical education: A needs-based global analysis for policy development

Background: A needs-based approach is desirable for the transformation of pharmaceutical education, and to link pharmaceutical education with the health needs of populations and national priorities. There are varying levels of data in the literature on the status of pharmaceutical education in all six World Health Organization (WHO) regions, especially in the context of needs identification and evidence-based policy interventions. The framework for this study was the FIP Development Goals. Objectives: The aim of the study was to develop evidence-based policies through a needs-based approach for pharmaceutical education transformation nationally, regionally and globally by addressing the following objectives: 1. Identify global and regional needs in pharmaceutical education, through a regional SWOT analysis and prioritization of FIP development goals; 2. Develop valid and credible regional roadmaps for pharmaceutical education advancement according to the identified prioritized goals and 3. Develop a global call to action as a policy intervention for advancing pharmaceutical education. Methods: This study was conducted between 2020 and 2021 using a mixed methods approach. Surveys of higher education institutions and a series of qualitative interviews were conducted with national professional leadership organizations, with further regional workshops having 284 participants recruited from the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) membership base, spanning all six WHO regions. Results: Eleven out of 21 FIP DGs were identified as priorities for regional roadmaps and FIP DG 1 (Academic capacity) was identified as a priority in four regions. All regions had distinctive results with an area of commonality between them. There were common weaknesses in the adoption of competency-based education and inter-professional education. Conclusions: It is critical for every country and region to develop needs- and evidence-based policies for the transformation of pharmaceutical education, for which FIP DGs provide a systematic framework