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The appropriate link between the pharmacy curriculum and its outcomes to population and national health needs has been a visible global agenda with the growing emphasis of governments to provide greater access to and improved responsible medication use [25]. In order to bridge the gap between pharmacy curricula and given health needs, competency-based education has been gaining attention as an alternative approach for optimising the preparation of health professional graduates [26].

Quality Assurance

Many countries have established quality assurance (QA) systems for HEIs, including internal and external processes and self-assessment [27, 28]. QA systems prevalence is not specific for pharmacy or pharmaceutical education and therefore does not consider desired learning outcomes. FIP, WHO, and UNESCO have recognised a world-wide need for building capacity and expertise towards higher and equitable quality of pharmacy education. Aiming for QA systems that are nationally or regionally adaptable - ensuring that curricula are competency-based and reflect a vision for needs-based pharmacy practice - will deliver high quality and appropriate education. Thus FIP developed the Global Framework for Quality Assurance of Pharmacy Education in 2008, to identify the core principles and elements that are deemed as fundamental for an effective approach to the QA of pharmacy education [27, 28]. The FIP framework can be adapted to accommodate national and population needs, and local health systems [27].

Quality in pharmacy and pharmaceutical education is recognised as the foundation of our profession. The initial professional education must be reflective of a vision for pharmacy practice, which is national and population health needs-based, socially accountable, competency-based, and quality assured. The global consensus recognises that quality- assured education based on well-structured standards will prepare graduates for the wide range of future pharmacy careers and also to meet social expectations [25].

Multiple stakeholders have become interested in the quality of, and the standards for, pharmacy and pharmaceutical education. Combined with the increasing recognition of the extended roles of pharmacists, growing awareness of pharmacists as health care providers, and the need for pharmaceutical scientists [25, 27].

Global leadership and the commitment of international policy-makers accountable for prioritised health and education programmes are key to supporting country-led strategies for reform and helping to facilitate the engagement of multiple stakeholders [18]. Evidence-based global pharmacy and pharmaceutical education policy can therefore support the achievement of higher and equitable quality world-wide.

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The outcomes of professional pharmacy and pharmaceutical education depend on two main factors: effective quality- assurance of pharmacy and pharmaceutical education, and the production of competent pharmacy graduates. In turn, identifying pharmacy and pharmaceutical education provision globally is an essential step towards delivering acceptable evidence-based practices and policies for professional pharmacy and pharmaceutical education.

Conclusions

FIP advocates the use of a needs-based approach to education to further the global agenda [6, 29]. The emphasis is on the link between pharmacy/pharmaceutical education and the health needs of the population [18].

In all health professions, there is increased attention to social accountability. Underlining population needs and national health priorities to ensure that HEIs are socially accountable, professional pharmacy and pharmaceutical education needs to be quality-assured with effective systems that are developed through a clear presentation of professional competencies.

The FIP Education Initiative Development Team needs-based education cycle describes that pharmacy and pharmaceutical education has to be needs assessed, socially accountable, competency-based, and quality assured (see Part 5 of this report).