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4.3.5 Curriculum development

While many countries for example, UK, Switzerland, Malaysia, and Namibia, retain a BPharm or MPharm/MSc as the entry- level university qualification, a number of countries (for example Japan, Saudi Arabia and Thailand), have adopted the PharmD as their entry-level degree. Regardless of the chosen degree title, there is a global trend towards more integrated clinical curricula with more patient focussed, experiential learning in practice or virtual environments. This had been accompanied by a move away from an emphasis on pharmaceutical science and the development of separate pharmaceutical science degrees. Active learning in the forms of case-based learning and experiential education has been part of the pharmacy curricula of US schools for years. This is beginning to be even more prominent as evidence grows that active learning and student engagement are critical to the professional development of lifelong learners. Simulation and gaming, especially as part of interprofessional education, will be increasingly important in the PharmD curriculum.

Needs based Curriculum

To combat the many issues faced by the pharmacy workforce, mechanisms based on local needs are essential for scaling up, assuring and improving the quality of pharmaceutical education. Educational development is a key strategy that is often limited by resources and capacity within academic and training institutions. Being both aware and sceptical of the impracticality of the one size fits all educational model, FIP has been actively supporting, and calling for, a needs-based education approach where pharmacy education provision is socially accountable, practice and science are evidence-based and practitioners have the required competencies to provide the services needed by their communities [28, 31].

Namibia is focussing on needs and competency-based education, emphasis on practical exposure, research and pharmaceutical industry. Another significant area of need is in the technical support that is otherwise missing from the practice environment. Namibia is developing a diploma for Pharmaceutical Technicians to fill this gap and provide career development opportunities for the pharmacy support workforce. In Zimbabwe the curriculum has been crafted to suit the specific needs of a developing nation and specific competencies have been identified which practitioners need for their service delivery in this environment. The pharmacy curriculum has been updated to cater for some key competencies required to specifically developing country pharmacy practitioners. These include such issues as: the essential medicines concept , the policies concerning affordable, accessible, equitable, and sustainable provision

of generic medicinal products, as well as the importance of pharmacovigilance with respect to substandard and counterfeit medicines. Other topics of importance to the Zimbabwean pharmacy practitioner involve the emphasis on HIV/AIDS, TB, malaria and other tropical diseases. Zimbabwe and other regional settings have a focus on such subjects as primary health care, nutritional disorders, and paediatric pharmaceutical dosage formulations. The proposed transformation of the UK curriculum includes the following recommendations [8]: dispersed practice placements within the 5-year integrated degree, a single application process for major practice placements, local systems of quality management within the practice placements, the creation of local pharmacy deaneries responsible for signing off the students practice placements, and a view of the academic workforce.

Pharmacy education and training in Portugal faces the main challenge of maintaining a comprehensive pharmacy diploma based on a 5-year curriculum. Due to the fact that around 60% of pharmacists in Portugal work in community pharmacy, faculties have been developing courses relevant to community pharmacy such as non-prescription medicines, communication, pharmaceutical care, pharmacotherapy follow-up, information technology, and management. However, some of these courses remain elective, with fewer vacancies than the number of students who would like to attend.

Outcome based curriculum In 2012, the Pharmacy Council of Thailand produced guidelines about the core competencies and course structures for all pharmacy curricula. These core competencies are not only important for the knowledge, skills, abilities and characteristics of pharmacy graduates to meet societal needs but also will be used as guidelines for the first registration examination which is in the process of professional licensure. The faculties of pharmacy have revised their curricula with the intention to produce highly educated pharmacists to meet the health care requirements of patients and society. Thai pharmacists have to get involved in every aspect from pharmaceutical supply chain or manufacturing industry through to pharmaceutical care. Therefore, preparation of pharmacy students for diversities of roles and responsibilities among different practice settings is the most important aspect in pharmacy curriculum. In 2013, the Pharmacy Council also developed a core competency in industrial pharmacy consisting of research and development (R&D) and regulatory affairs (RA), quality assurance and quality control, and manufacturing.

The Malaysian pharmacy curriculum has gone through gradual review and improvement in line with pharmacy practice globally. The early days of pharmacy education